3 hours ago
Showing posts with label Coffee Chat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coffee Chat. Show all posts
Yesterday it snowed. We had at least a couple inches on the ground, a couple days after I had planted my herb garden in our little porch greenhouse. The basil was wilting, so my son transferred it back to a portable pot and brought it inside for me.
Today, literally by the time the sun rose, all the snow was already melted, and my kids convinced me to let them go exploring in the woods alone. I gave them alarm whistles and walk talkies and sat on the porch waiting for them to come back. Dare I say, it was actually hot in the sunshine!
Such is spring in the mountains.
The last month has been a bit of a whirlwind. We had a nice Easter, and then before I knew it I had our homeschool group meeting, then visiting a co-op, then my son's birthday and a birthday party, then field trips and eye appointments. This week we'll have standardized testing, and two nights out with friends for me. It's a good busy, but busy nonetheless.
Homeschooling is going well, we're well into the homestretch and limping toward the finish line. I made limping sound like a bad thing just now, but it's more like finishing a bunch of our curriculum and trying to find some things to fill these last few weeks before we're officially done for the year. I bought this Shakespeare curriculum, I want to finish this book about the ancient Romans, and there will be spelling and math drills abounding. My daughter asked if we could start the second book in the Anne Of Green Gables series as a family read-aloud, so that might be on the horizon as well.
We've been on the go so much, I haven't had as much time to bake or experiment in the kitchen, and I'm itching to try making something new. I did buy coconut milk and seltzer water in preparation for making refreshing springtime beverages, and we've been stocking up on all the fruit. As summertime approaches, you'll probably find me gathering recipes to try when I actually have time to make things again (hopefully).
One new thing in April is that I re-started my no/low buy after falling off the wagon in March. I'm adjusting my rules a bit to allow myself to buy a couple things a month as long as they are less than a certain dollar amount. It's going well so far, and it's a good thing, because our puppy ended up costing us $800 this month. That was not a happy day.
Dot basically swallowed a toy, and ended up throwing it up, but still looked so miserable and listless that we were worried there was something else stuck in there. Our vet was closed for the day, so I ended up taking her to an emergency vet, and oh boy. Never again.
You know you've made a mistake when everyone in the office keeps calling an animal "your kiddo", while your actual kiddo is holding said animal. I would have walked out, but they took the dog away for an hour, and I had to strategically ask for her back before being able to escape. It cost that much just for an X-ray, and even though there wasn't anything obvious in there, they wanted to put her on an IV overnight! A dog, remember. And a dog which I already told them was still drinking plenty of water. I said I was taking her home to take our chances until our regular vet opened, and what do you know, she was 100% back to normal the next day.
Thankfully we were holding money aside to buy a new window, so we'll just have to wait another year. Who needs airtight windows anyway?
We went on a field trip to the zoo a couple weeks ago, and as we were walking down the paths, I noticed that I could smell the flowers, so our state is in that stage of spring now. Then when we went to church the other day, the flowering trees were just at their prime! I'm so glad I took some pictures that day, because as I mentioned, a few days later we had more snow. I was circling the tree, taking pictures and videos and big, deep breaths of the floral air, and I must have been making quite a spectacle of myself because a woman walked up and asked if I wanted a picture with the tree. I was a little embarrassed, but obviously agreed. She commented that she and her husband "were admiring your joy over the trees, and we just thought you needed a picture".
And all of a sudden I wasn't embarrassed anymore, because why would anyone not have joy over flowering trees? Joy is actually the right response, and who cares if everyone can see it? God could have just left all the flowers on the ground, but that would have been too obvious - instead He decorated branches with them. Isn't there something magnificent about that?
This week I hope you too find something that makes you so joyful that you make yourself a little ridiculous over it. Let it spill over, scatter it all around, and don't be embarrassed if someone comments on it, because why should you not splash a little joy on them too?
"Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;12Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.He shall judge the world with righteousness,And the peoples with His truth."Psalm 96:11-13
Happy Spring, friends!
One of my blog friends, Bella at Over The Teacups, is doing a linkup called "If We Met For Coffee (or Tea)", and it's just a chatty-post linkup - I think that's right up my alley!
Today if we met for coffee, I'd tell you that my kids are finally (hopefully!) going to do their Awana Grand Prix tonight. It was cancelled last week for snow, and they've were so disappointed. They spent alot of time designing and painting their wooden cars for the Derby race. One of my little girls has a cardboard box car all ready for the "pineapple derby", where all the smaller kids sit in their cardboard boxes and watch a movie. It's all very cute. It's the event of the spring for them, but it seems to get cancelled every year at least once because of snow.
Today if we met for coffee, I'd mention something about how there is a tiny glimmer of spring when I go outside lately. March is always that transition month between winter and "spring", if what we have in the mountains can be called a spring season. I expect lots more snow this month, but also brighter evenings, more songbird twittering, and maybe even a crocus or two before it's time to write one of these posts again.
Today if we met for coffee, I'd tell you that I have Friday marked off in my calendar as the end of the current school term. I've been trying to split up the semesters into 8-10 week terms, and make a fresh school plan at the beginning of each new term. It is a time to look through all the curriculum, count up the weeks, and figure out if we are on track to finish on time. I'm very much hoping that we are able to finish a few subjects early, because there are some extras I want to sneak in before the end of the year - things like more art study, extra science lessons, and maybe a dabbling of civics. We will see how things appear on Friday.
Today if we met for coffee, I am sure that books would come up at some point, and I would be thrilled to report that I've finished 7 books in February, and almost all of them books that I can recommend! I have resolved to only spend time on books that I anticipate being able to recommend, which has honestly weeded alot of junk out of my reading. If a book has too much objectionable content in it, I have no qualms about quitting it, and if I'm not enjoying it I don't feel obligated to power through. Life is too short to read books that aren't worthwhile. I'd also probably mention that I decided this month to try to read a book by a Puritan every month for the rest of the year. Puritan writings are meaty, so that may be too ambitious of a goal. I've developed a fondness for the Puritans over the last couple years - say what you want about them, but it can't be denied that they were completely dedicated to doing everything to the glory of God. I'd much rather read a Puritan's advice about anything over any modern self-help book you could name.
Today if we met for coffee, I might mention that tomorrow is my monthly grocery shopping day. I've been skimping on purchases that last couple months and must stock up on a few things. Inflation is killing us here, and I'm worried about how much everything is going to cost - every time I go to the grocery store these days, the total ends up being 20-30% more than I thought it was going to be! I'm going to spend some time today taking inventory and making a meal plan for the next month, because counting every cost is important right now.
Today if we met for coffee, I'd have a bit of excitement in my voice when I talk about going to a one-day retreat for homeschool moms on Saturday. One of our state organizations is putting it on. The retreat is particularly timely this year, and I'm hoping for some great motivation for the home stretch of the school year!
Today if we met for coffee, I'd ask you how you are doing. I'd ask if you are getting any glimmers of spring, if you've read anything good lately. I'd ask if you find yourself slipping into a slump in March like I sometimes do, and how you stay motivated during these weird spring days. And you would give me all your updates and all your advice, and we'd sip our coffee (or tea!), and we might talk over each other, and we'd laugh, and at the end we would leave feeling refreshed.
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You can join the linkup here:
I started this day off by finishing an audiobook while I walked to the mailbox, then I decided to make some salted caramel sandwich cookies. If this post ends up being a little disjointed, it's because I'm jumping up every 8ish minutes to take a batch of cookies out of the oven!
Just Life
She spends most of her day following the warm spots around the house, as you can see from the photos.
Our mailbox is empty this morning, as it's often been lately because apparently they can't get a mail carrier for our route. If I want my mail, I have to go down to the post office so they can give it to me. I made a couple trips down there last week to pick up Valentine's Day packages. Derek and I often skip gifts on Valentine's Day, but this year we both ended up getting each other something. I got Derek this shirt, and he got me a new Chi hair straightener because my old one was desperately old, and was also probably the reason that my hair stylist had to cut two inches of broken ends off a couple weeks ago. Though I'm told only two inches over the course of a year is pretty good for our dry climate here.
Derek made me a really wonderful Valentine's dinner, and decorated the school room and everything. It literally felt like a going out to a restaurant without even leaving the house. It was so sweet of him to go to so much effort, and really unexpected since we usually don't do much for Valentine's Day!
Aside from Valentine's Day, we also celebrated my oldest son's birthday in the last couple weeks. He is twelve. That feels so grown up - I remember being twelve and wanting to be included more in adult conversation at that age. I can tell he is at that point as well, and it's just hard to believe he is growing up so fast. He likes to remind me that he'll be driving in a mere four years. I try not to think about it too much.
On his birthday we went out to a local pinball arcade and let the kids have an unlimited hour of play - it was such a fun outing! My mom has been telling me about this arcade for a couple years, and I'm so glad we finally made it happen. I think Derek and I might make a date night out of it soon. We didn't pay for ourselves to play, and I was a little sorry we didn't, because I really want to try some of the games!
I have not given an update on Lulu here for a while, and she has grown quite alot since we got her. She definitely looks more like an adult miniature dachshund now (which, let's be honest, is still pretty small). Her favorite part of the day is right after Derek lets her out in the morning...she charges in the door and up the stairs, trying to catch me before I get out of bed. If I'm not getting up early, Derek gives her a boost onto the bed, and she races over to me, darts under the covers, and then squirms up until she is laying on her back with her head poking out of the covers right next to my face. Then she'll tilt her head over to me and snuggle for a while, until I sneakily tuck the covers around her and roll out of bed. We don't let her sleep on the beds at all at night, so this one little morning snuggle is the only time she gets. I have to say, having a soft, adorable little puppy dog tuck herself right in next to you is a nice way to be awakened in the morning.
Happy Mail And An Instagram Break
As a mini update on my New Year's goals: I did not paint last week, and I did not work on Ancestry.com. I did, however, receive a lovely letter from a childhood friend, and I wrote a letter, and plan on writing another today if I have the time. I highly recommend letter writing if you can find good people to write to. Since starting my letter-writing project, I've been keeping my own letters rather short so that it is manageable for me to write one per week, and I'm proud of the amount of letters I've stamped and mailed so far. I also forgot how nice it can be to receive a personal letter in the mail back. There is something really special about this form of communication - maybe it's easier to be honest when you are handwriting a letter, and maybe having to wait so long for a reply makes it a little sweeter when you spot handwriting you recognize amidst the junk mail.
Since we're talking about different forms of communication, I also decided to give Instagram another break. I was reading back through some of my old blog posts regarding social media, and remembering how lovely that year was when I wasn't on any social media at all. Even as I dipped my toe back into Instagram last year and have been using it more rarely, I still find myself rather sick of it again. One of the lasting benefits of being off Instagram for a whole year has been that it's much easier to recognize when the algorithm is messing with me, and when Instagram itself is bringing out negative feelings in me. I was feeling that way again recently, and decided to give it a break, until the end of the school year I think. Perhaps you'll be seeing more posts on the blog now! I also still post an occasional Bible verse or article on Twitter if you want to join me over there. Twitter just doesn't suck my time in the same way Instagram does.
Disjointed Thoughts On Wisdom Online
Speaking of Twitter, I saw this tweet over there last week, and it's been swirling in my mind since then:
I think the sentiment here is very true, whether we're talking about marriage or some other aspect of life.
I think it would be better for everyone if more young Christians had the wisdom to recognize when their experience is too fresh, that maybe they shouldn't offer advice until they have more years under their belt. That perhaps they can't have learned any real lessons until the experiences have marinated a bit.
Though age doesn't guarantee wisdom and there are plenty of foolish older people, a real depth of wisdom comes with fearing and knowing the Lord through the storms of life. Wisdom is a potential that might come to fruition as we walk with Christ through a variety of life experiences, good and bad, and those experiences can't all happen in only the amount of years that you can count on two hands. If wisdom comes, it comes with time.
On the flip side, I also think there is a derth of mature, wise Christian women actually sharing advice online - or in person either, for that matter. I wish older women would speak up sometimes, but then I see how they are sometimes poo-poo'ed or shot down when they do. Perhaps they don't speak because there are so few young women who want to hear what they have to say anymore. The gray-headed are not honored in modern America, often not even among Christians, and it's a shame on us.
All these thoughts are very half-baked on my part, but it's something I've been mulling over for a while. I'd love to hear what you think!
I've been severely neglecting my salted caramel cookie dough while typing that out, so I'll finish up now and get back to it!
How was your Valentine's Day, friends?
Have you been baking anything as winter starts to wind down?
Knock, knock, knock.
I crack open one eye and see the sunlight streaming in through the windows. Woodpeckers. Usually our woodpeckers are a problem in May, but all the birds seem to be arriving late this year. I bang my hand against the wall a few times to scare it off, and then pull the blankets back over my head.
Knock, knock, knock.
I'm starting to get a little exasperated now and I knock back on the wall a few more times. Finally, the woodpecker seems to have left.
I think about the sound that kept me awake last night, like the whining of a lost dog moving around our house. After worrying about it for 15 minutes, I sort-of woke Derek up to tell him I thought there was a dog wandering around outside. He told me it was the local elk mewing in the field down the hill. "Are you sure?" I had asked. "Positive," he replied as he closed his eyes again. I feel a little silly now for praying that whoever owned the "lost dog" would find it.
I push my thoughts away and roll over, squeezing my eyes shut against the sunlight, attempting go back to sleep.
Chirp, chatter, chirp.
A squirrel has decided to scold some other creature right outside my open window, and he's loud. Perhaps he's actually scolding me for daring to try to sleep past sunrise.
Basically all the wildlife is conspiring against my sleep cycle.
I give up and roll out of bed.
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Even though I wish I could have a day to catch up on my sleep, I'm glad the squirrel scolded me out of bed this morning, because I actually have some time to write a chatty post. I'm sitting on the porch now, coffee cup on the table, listening to the birds singing in the trees, and feeling the warm sun on my back. Watching out of the corner of my eye as Wyatt practices aiming his unloaded .22 at a distant tree. We signed up the two big kids for 4H this year - actually, I should say Derek signed them up. I made it very clear that I didn't have the mental space this spring to manage 4H commitments, so it was up to him to make sure they stayed on top of their projects, and he has held up his end of the bargain admirably. Wyatt is shooting in the county fair competition this weekend. It's been really great to see how seriously he is taking gun safety, and to see him get more comfortable with shooting, because, as he reminds us frequently, he'll be old enough to hunt big game next year.
Gwen signed up for sewing in 4H, and she and Derek have been figuring out how to work a sewing machine - with a little help from me. I am still the only person in the house who knows how to thread a bobbin, so I'm not totally unnecessary. They made a cute little shirt together, and I'm so proud of Gwen for her hard work in learning how to follow a pattern - I don't even quite know how to follow a pattern! My sewing expertise is limited to blankets.
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At the beginning of June, I was sure I'd have buckets of time to read a bunch of books, organize the school room, take up a new hobby, and write on the blog. It was summer break, after all! No schoolwork on the to-do list for a few months. Unfortunately, that is not quite how it's worked out - I don't even know where June went, I just know I was out of the house almost every day for pre-planned trips, errands, appointments, the homeschool conference, and VBS. You don't even want to know how much I spent on gas. But the last appointments were checked off the list this week, and I am looking forward to catching up on house projects, cooking more, and yes, more reading and hobby time for the next month.
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Speaking of trips, for 4th of July weekend we all went to visit my grandparents at their cabin in a cute mountain town a few hours away. I love getting a chance to visit them each summer, because it's one of those trips that is just refreshing. We don't have a packed-full schedule, we just enjoy one or two activities and spend the rest of the time playing card games with my grandparents. Derek and I love card and board games, and we rope our friends into playing with us whenever we have them over for dinner, so it's a treat spending a whole weekend chatting and playing cards at the cabin. The kids usually run around outside, play a few games themselves, and watch movies during our downtime.
This visit my grandparents took us to an outdoor wildlife park that mainly featured animals that we have in the mountains, and a few from further north. Red foxes, coyotes, black bears, mountain lions, porcupines, elk, and even a wolf and a grizzly bear. We've seen many of these creatures many times in the wild, but it was really cool to see them up close. We got there in time for the afternoon feeding, and the keeper told us about each animal as they came to the near side of their enclosures to eat. It was really cool! Afterwards we went out for pizza, then home for sparklers in their driveway since the fireworks display was cancelled for inclement bad weather.
It was a great weekend all the way around!
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On our way home from visiting the cabin, we decided to stop at a trail to a waterfall that we usually don't have time to visit. We piled out of the car and spied the waterfall in the distance, then read the sign directing us to either the main trail or the "primitive" trail. Well, let's do the primitive trail! We set off and followed the kids up an overgrown, rocky path, over a log here, under a fallen tree here.
After crossing a small but steep gully, we couldn't figure out where the "primitive" trail was anymore. Derek decided to climb up the hill and see if there was a good way through for the kids. As he came back down the hill, announcing it was too dicey to take the kids that way, I spotted the main trail down the hill through some trees. We all scrambled over a fallen tree and a marshy area, and reached the path.
As I led the kids along, I noticed that the main trail reconnected with the primitive trail on an easier path, and the big kids and I scrambled up and got an amazing view of the waterfall! The water was cascading 100 feet over a cliff into a little pool, then continued in a bubbling stream down the hillside. We could practically feel the mist on our faces, even though it was a couple hundred feet away, and a perpetual rainbow decorated the bottom of the fall. It was gorgeous!
It was indeed too steep for the kids to go any closer, so I sent them back down the path to rejoin Derek, but curiosity got the better of me - I picked my way across the hillside to get a little closer to the waterfall. At twenty feet from the falls, the water was roaring very loudly, and the mist occasionally whipped into my face, making my clothes damp. Then I noticed that Derek and the kids had gone on the main trail across the creek and were waiting on the platform on the other side - it seemed silly to go all the way back on the steep, somewhat slippery path to get up with the main trail, so I decided to cross the stream in front of the waterfall instead.
Did I mention I was only wearing flip flops for this hike?
It was somewhat poorly planned, but I made it safely across the stream (which wasn't deep at all or I wouldn't have attempted it), and met up again with Derek and the kids at the overlook on the other side. It was pretty amazing to be so close to such a tall waterfall!
We all were very impressed with the waterfall and agreed it was a great 4th of July adventure in lieu of fireworks.
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When we haven't been face-to-face with huge waterfalls or running mundane errands, I've really been enjoying being home this summer. Aside from it being somewhat stressful financially to go anywhere with gas prices as they are, I've really been enjoying cooking more when I've had a rare day at home. I've made a caramel apple pie a couple times now, biscuits and gravy from the Magnolia cookbook (which I must admit were a huge hit), and sweet and sour chicken from scratch (as good as any we've had at a restaurant). I really want to perfect a key lime pie this summer, and perhaps even attempt the holy grail of pies - the lemon meringue. I don't know how many times I've heard my dad fondly remember his granny's lemon meringue, and though I don't have any hope of supplanting her pies in my dad's memory, maybe my kids or grandkids can remember my lemon meringue pies with fondness someday.
For my birthday in June, Derek took me shopping at Ulta and Hobby Lobby and let me buy whatever I wanted - I got some nice lotion and makeup at Ulta, and at Hobby Lobby I found an inspiring watercolor and drawing book. I would really like to spend a little time playing with watercolor and practicing drawing this summer. I can't guarantee I will share any of my attempts online, but it's something I always wanted to get better at, and I'm hoping for more down time in the next few weeks to practice.
On the to-do list for today though, I have to call and set up a couple more doctor appointments (though these won't be for a couple months yet), register for our homeschool umbrella school for the next year, renew HSLDA, start to plan a bit for next school year and potentially order some curriculum, and cut Gwen's hair. It reaches to her shorts waistband right now, but she wants it to be mid-back length instead.
The kids have donned their swimsuits to play in the kiddie pool on the porch, and I just spotted a water gun, so I think I'll wrap this up before water comes flying this way!
How has your summer been so far? Has it been as crazy as my June was, or have you had some down time?
- Last week we decided to visit one more National Park for the month, and we took a trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park. We haven't been there for a few years. The last time we went, Georgie was still a baby and cried every time we let her feet touch the sand, but somehow we didn't even make it as far up the dunes as we did last time. We hiked the first short hill, played for a couple minutes, climbed back down and staked out a claim near the water. Every year in May and June, the snow melts off the surrounding mountains and creates a gentle river right in front of the dunes. It's a great chance to cool down and play in the sand without getting your feet burned. We've been particularly enthused about visiting and revisiting National Parks because we got a family National Parks passport book. I may do another post about this, but it's a fun project for us!
- My kids finished their library challenge early this year, mostly at my urging. Last year we finished the challenge in July, but all the finishing prizes were gone, which was rather anticlimactic. This year I pushed them to do a few activities and played audiobooks for them until we reached the 500 points, wondering why it was so difficult for us to finish last year when we flew through this summer. Regardless, they did receive a finisher prize, which were tickets and a free meal at our local aquarium! So that activity will be going on our calendar sometime in July, I'm sure.
- Tonight I am going to see "The Homeschool Awakening" in theaters, a documentary about homeschooling by Kirk Cameron. I think it should be interesting! I know of several people in the documentary already, and I've heard Kirk Cameron speak at homeschool conferences before - but I like to support these kinds of films, and it's fun to go with some homeschooling mom friends! I will report back (possibly on Instagram, or a quick post here, I'm not sure) what I thought about it!
(Unrelated picture of my boys hiking around outside this morning.)
- This week is also my birthday, which is fun and everything, except for the fact that I have jury duty. Now, if you've been around for a while, you may remember that I have always wanted to get picked as a juror - I want to see how the process works, do my civic duty, etc. I'm very interested in it (and well aware that I'm in the minority on this)! I have been notified of jury duty twice before, and was so disappointed when my court days were cancelled. So the fact that my third chance at jury duty happens to be on my birthday is leading to very mixed feelings. Would it be really cool if I finally got a chance to be a juror? Yes! Would I prefer not to spend my birthday in a courthouse? Also, yes. Why must the judicial system do this to me? Let's be real though, it will probably be cancelled again anyway.
- With prices of everything going up, and no indication of this slowing down, I've decided it's time I take cooking at home a little more seriously. I used to really enjoy trying new recipes before I started having kids, and then it was a whirlwind of pregnancy and baby phases on repeat for the next 10 years, and I didn't really have the mental energy to give it another go. Cooking is actually not something that comes naturally to me - I'm more of a baker at heart. But we need to have good enough things to eat at home that we aren't tempted to drop by the store or a restaurant for an easier meal, and I suppose it's my job to make it happen. My goal is to try to make something from scratch every time I have a day at home, and to branch out and try some new recipes while I'm at it. So far, that's been African peanut stew (yum), chocolate chip cookies, and caramel apple pie (what did I say about being a baker at heart?). Next up, I'm going to try Joanna Gaines's biscuits and gravy. I always felt like Joanna Gaines was a little overrated (unpopular opinion, right there), but her cookbook has been fun to read through so far!
- Our local homeschool conference is also this week, and it looks like it's going to be a good one! Ken Ham and Allie Beth Stuckey are a couple of the speakers, and there is going to be traveling display of a life-size tabernacle (based on the tabernacle in the Old Testament) as well. I intended to have alot of next year's curriculum ordered earlier in June, because I don't want to be tempted to buy things I wasn't planning on at the conference, but at this point I'll probably wait until after the conference to see if there are any special sales I should take advantage of. Homeschool conference curricula halls are dangerous places. I am hoping to buy more little "Sermon Notes" notebooks which I found there last year, as well as this book for myself, which I'm sure will be there as well. I guess if I can save a bit on shipping, that's a win!
- Speaking of conferences, there is also a free online enneagram conference going on this week (analyzing the enneagram from a biblical perspective), and this online "life skills camp" for kids that I might let the kids watch (though probably only a few videos, because glancing at the first day, I think many are geared toward older kids).
That's all for now, but I'm hoping to get another post up later this week (assuming I don't get picked to be a juror for a 3-week murder trial or something). Wish me luck!
My life has been taken over by photo books.
I had grand plans for this week, to spend a bunch time reading and planning for the new year. I was going to sort out my personal goals, and get organized for an amazing start to the spring semester of our homeschool.
I just had that one little photo project to do first. Should be able to get it done in a day, clean up my Christmas decorations the next day, and then have the rest of the week to let my inner planning nerd out!
Well, that is not how it's gone. Instead, I've been staring at my computer screen for 8 hours every day this week. I have bloodshot eyes - literally, there was a big bloody spot in the corner of my eye when I woke up this morning - and I still have to finalize the books today before I can get them ordered. I severely underestimated how much time it would take to put together even basic photo books for five kids.
So if you need me, I'll just be over here, hyped up on coffee, eyes drooping, promising myself that this year I'm going to add photos to the kids' photo books at the end of each month, instead of killing myself sorting through a year's worth of photos all at once. At least his experience has led to a solid New Year's resolution.
But before I get back to the grind and make my eyes bleed more, a chatty blog post is in order.
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The girls are going to Grandma's house for birthday fun tonight (for Gwen's birthday - she just turned 9! Remember when I had her in an ambulance?). Whenever some of the kids are gone doing something fun, we try to have a movie night or go out to dinner with the other kids, so I'm trying to think of a movie the boys would like to watch.
We just finished watching Star Wars with our big kids on New Year's Eve, and I'm happy to report that they seemed to like it. Derek could care less whether the kids like Star Wars, but I have some big Star Wars fans on my side of the family, so I decided we needed to watch the movies with the kids at some point. I was completely thrown for a loop, because they kids were not bothered at all by the parts I thought would disturb them, but we had some emotions over scenes that I wouldn't have thought twice about. Movies are kind of a minefield for this current age group. At least for us. I never quite know what things are going to bother the kids and what things won't.
We also rung in the New Year with about 8 inches of snow, which was so badly needed. We actually had a couple grass fires last week, before the snow. Fires in December. That never happens around here, but we've had a winter drought for months now, to the point where we now have to be worried about fires. So it was a relief to finally get some moisture!
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Going back a little further, our Christmas was lovely, and I got some really interesting gifts this year. My whole family really tried to think outside the box, and I love the things they picked! The kids got me a variety of candy, notebooks, pens, and embroidery floss (I'm finally getting into embroidery after procrastinating for two years). And Derek got me a great planner, books, a cross stitch kit, and a carved candle - which is so cool, but hard to explain - see above photo. I'm too scared to burn it! And of course, my favorite gift:
The first rule of the Sweet Baby Gang is that we don't talk about the Sweet Baby Gang.
Everyone else seemed to like their gifts too - Derek's big gift was a Kindle Paperwhite. This gift was possibly a little self-serving on my part, because this way when Derek reads at night, I don't have to cover my head with a pillow to block the light.
We also got the little girls Calico Critters. We tried getting Gwen Calico Critter when she was 4 or 5, but she really didn't get into them at all. I was heartbroken...that may be a little dramatic, but I was bummed anyway....because I thought they were so incredibly cute! Somewhere along the way we gave away her un-played-with Critters, and I forgot about them until I realized I needed to even out the Christmas presents for the little girls, and Calico Critters fit the bill. This time I sat down and played Critters with the girls for a while, and lo and behold, they spent the rest of Christmas week playing with them! I guess they just needed me to show them how.
Thankfully the week after Christmas was much more peaceful than the week after New Year's so I worked halfway through this book then. The Wingfeather Saga really is a good series, and fantasy series are always so cozy for winter. I'm enjoying it so much.
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A couple nights ago I went out to dinner with someone at church, and it started to snow. With the lights in town, it was so pretty and peaceful. I'm telling you all this basically just so I can show you the photos - it was so Christmas-y, and technically I guess it was still part of the Christmas season if we're looking at the traditional church calendar.
Next week the kids' Awana group starts back up, and I'm looking forward to resuming date nights with Derek. We've had hardly any time to just hang out together lately, so getting back to routines in January will be a good thing.
Speaking of routines, I need to go finish this cursed photo project so I can get back to my own routines. I have plans to do a quick grocery shopping trip this weekend, and to finally sit down and at least do the bare minimum of homeschool planning before we start back up again - but none of that will happen if I don't get these photo books ordered! I have my eyedrops and my coffee at the ready. Wish me luck.
How was your New Year's? Have you had time for New Year planning yet?
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