Finding the "Good Life".....

I had a chance to read one of my all time favorite blogs & website: http://www.homesteadblogger.com/quiverfull/ I just loved those pictures of her children playing in their pond! That is what childhood should be all about! That's the way I grew up, We had a summer home in the Catskill mountains in N.Y.. We would go their when ever my dad could get off of work. We had a number of family memebers who owned summer spots there too. I would have a number of cousins to play with when we were all there at the same time. It was just so relaxing, We would ride our bikes down to the lake (I've attached a picture of it) swim, lay on the dock and sunbath with the radio on or sometimes off so we could just hear the boats hitting up agains the docks when the ripples from the lake would rock them. At that time I thought it was so boring going to the same place all the time but now..... Gosh I wish I could give something like that to my kids! We have started using the Charlotte Mason methods of teaching for Kelly, and one things she says which hit me really hard is "One third of education is atmosphere"! That is something I really have to work on.... Like I said it is very crazy here right now with all these puppies we have, it is driving everyone over the edge! Our house is not a calm place, your stomach tightens up here, you breath in short breaths. Not a great place for learning inside or out : ) In another part of her teachings you are to explore & enjoy your area outside and make a nature book. I tell you when we go outside, I worry! When Kelly and I go for walks during the day I can never enjoy them because you just never know now a days what just might happen. I try and tell myself that I am just being over protective but you hear so many stories. The area we are in is not the best, great for having animals ect. but like I mentioned in earlier posts we have a sex offender two house down, I think our neighbor in the back is a drug dealer, We have had neighbors try and run me over, race cars, swear at my children ect.... this is not a place where you can take a breath and relax at all!!!!! You might ask why do they stay there????? I ask that of myself many times lately. It is so hard now to sell anything for a profit and we have so many obstacles to over come to be able to move & then of course we have all these animals that we would need to move which would be really tough. My mother always said to me"Look at each problem, If it is something that can be fixed fix it, If not then you have to let it go and live with it and make the best of it" she lived by that.