The Tully Telegraph: 2 Weeks (& more) In Review

Phew! These past two weeks have flown by! I finally re-installed Lightroom on our computer (And shed some tears over lost pictures- our computer crashed & I lost all pics taken with my new camera since last April. YIKES! Hard lesson learned about storing photos.) and uploaded those pictures as well as ones from our iPhones, so be prepared for a major photo dump in this post.

During these last two weeks, Eric has either worked from home or had time off. No more working from home next week, though he does have next Monday & Friday off. We are all going to miss him. Especially me. Eric has been such a huge help (& I enjoy his company!)- I wonder how it will go mothering alone during the day with eight children? Yikes! Sounds a bit scary! A goal for this next week is regular meal times. We've been eating very late for every meal... but we at least we are eating. ;)

Okay, now for a recap! Katherine will be four weeks on Monday. I think she looks a lot like Eric. Several people have commented the same. What do you think? Katherine is simply adorable & PERFECT. And very expressive with her eyebrows:

One week after Katherine was born, my mother had knee replacement surgery. She is doing well but is still recovering. I wish we could help more but we have enjoyed visiting & I'm thankful my father and brother are there.

Time seems to be passing so quickly! I'm thankful to The Lord that nursing has gone smoothly this entire past week. I've held a schedule loosely for Katherine because I want this tiny one to eat whenever she is hungry. I do not let her go past 3 hours for nursing during the day but at night I let her wake me, which varies from 2-4 hours. (I'm grateful when it's every 4+ hours!) We've had some very sleepy days these past few weeks but overall, Katherine's done well.

All of the children have been a big help! In the above picture, Patricia napped with Katherine so I could grab a nap one afternoon. These days, I need a nap during the day but it's hard to squeeze it in. With Daddy home, we've focused on implementing more chores & also worked on the children tasking responsibility to check their own work. Eric made a checklist for them & that has helped a ton! Another focus has been teamwork- we want them to help & serve each other joyfully and without their parents prodding them. A common phrases you'll hear around these parts is, "Tullys are hard workers." Making this phrase a reality in our children's lives takes a lot of work on Eric & I's part but it's so worth it!

We've done a few lessons the past two weeks. Mainly, math, Latin & music with a bit of reading aloud and crafts/art. Lessons will continue to be light till the new year. I'm grateful we worked so hard before Katherine came! I'm grateful that learning happens even when curriculum isn't being opened. I've been working on new plans for the new year with the emphasis in simplifying and focusing on the grammar of things (did you know each subject has it's on grammar?), though Patricia is branching off to deeper things. Praise God she is prepared & willing! I finished reading The Core & I'll try to post about that later-its reminded me to delight in the foundations. As a mama with lots of littles, that's a good thing!

The following are some pics from our time with the Arendse family. Music was a major part of each day. I'm so grateful for what they are teaching us when we get together & via FaceTime. Currently, we are borrowing their friends dulcimer - SO EXCITING! Jam sessions:

We celebrated Eric's birthday (I realize that I've never posted pictures of Abigail's birthday celebration that happened while I was at the hospital. I still need to get pictures from my parents... Actually, I've never posted pictures from several Tully birthdays this year... I always intend to blog about important events but life happens & blogging sometimes doesn't.):

Picture time:

Fall art lesson with Auntie Jeanelle (this lesson was inspired from here... Btw, this is one of my fav blogs to read- I only wish I could be this stylish!):