Some Updates

Here we go. The elder children of the Afelskie fam are going to attempt to continue mom's blog as she is too overwhelmed with all the chores us kids pile on top of her. 

Today Joseph, Isaac and Sarah attended school at St. Andrews. While it may be crazy times right now due to covid, it it nice to have a quiet(er) house during the day. The eldest three continue to battle through their high school education, and this will soon pay off for the twins! Mariana is currently at home being educated in all the things that a normal four year old has to learn and she is close to being able to read. However, she stresses that mom must continue reading to her even when she becomes literate. She currently can sound out words and thoroughly enjoys writing whatever letters she can on any sheet of paper she can. Matthew sticks by her side providing emotional support even if Mariana does not want it in the moment. He loves repeating any words she is learning by mom's side. 

Speaking of words, Matthew has many under his belt. His favorites include: tractor, moin (more) mulk (milk), Becca (Grandpa), chee chee (chicken) tractor, Je Je (Jesus), pawpy (puppy), and bears. Benjamin has been fueling this last love of his by printing out a picture of a bear, which is now hanging above his bed. Any dark room now apparently has a bear in it.

Mariana also has her moments. During adoration a couple of days ago she looked up at the picture of the last supper and declared, "Hmmm...not too many girls up there." She has also claimed to be an Atheist in the past, "I don't believe in God, but I believe in Mary." And of course, I can't forget Moochie. Moochie is her Texas longhorn which she must have in order to go to bed resulting in a many late night 'Moochie hunts', which requires the entire family searching the house until she is found.

Speaking of Mary, we have been saying the rosary consistently since Covid-19 began. It has definitely been a struggle, but I believe we are getting better each day. Matthew will regularly kneel down with the rest of the kids, spread his arms out in the shape of a cross and proclaim, "Do it," while motioning for all the kids to imitate him. What a holy young lad :)

Isaac and Sarah...what a duo. But whatever we older kids may say or think about them, we cannot fault them for staying true to themselves. Isaac is currently trying to organize pumpkin carving (which should  happen tomorrow night). This afternoon he carted a wheelbarrow down to the woodshed, loaded 9 pumpkins inside, and trekked back home. He has been told that this is allowed to happen if he reads thirty minutes a day, which he is starting right now. Sarah is Sarah. She loves drawing and this takes up the majority of her time. She adores doing anything girly (painting nails, curling hair, etc).

Joseph's new interest involves one puppy. Rosie has been a wonderful contribution to our family, especially after an unfortunate dog-biting instance with our previous canine. She is currently trained to sit, beg, lie down, fetch, etc., all of which Joseph gets full credit. Unfortunately, she only comes when he calls her..perhaps something we have to work on. 

Benjamin is navigating his way around the VLC. His Gr. 8 year was cut short, luckily he was Valedictorian and was able to leave his class with some closing remarks and a wonderful farewell, which involves him running off a dock and splashing into a lake with some sound effects, of course (you'll have to watch the video to understand). For his own entertainment he has purchased a subscription to a biking channel, which he watches daily and claims to be learning lots from. 

Jacob and I are in our last year of the VLC, for which we are both very thankful and relieved. Jacob continues to write, write, write, read, eat, and write. If you can't tell, he loves writing, and listening to music of course. His fountain of knowledge of popular media and everything else continues growing. 

Mom and Dad are surviving. Mom has started supplying in the school system again during the last month because that's what you do during a 'pandemic', right? Thankfully, she has also been able to somehow balance household chores and family life, while also digesting as much information as she can about all current, important events presently going on during her brief naps, which are not really naps and which actually just involve her lying down on her bed with a eye-bag over her eyes, sound machine on and the kids banished to another room ;) Dad is dad. His new job is suiting him well and he is able to stay home every once in a while so that he can ensure that all things are running smoothly during the school day. And of course, he loves hanging out with his wonderful children of whom he is tremendously proud of. 

Anyway...that's all for now :)

P.S. sorry for all the grammatical errors, perhaps my writing will also benefit from blogging!