Not Quite Ordinary Observations

For Today...Monday, April 1, 2013

In the great outdoors...gnats! The buffalo gnats evidently got tired of waiting for spring and decided to go ahead and appear in full force while the temperatures were still in the 50’s. Yesterday I almost swallowed half a dozen just walking back and forth to church, and I’ve already suffered a bite. Ouch.

Today, though, we have the weather they were waiting for! Beautiful sunshine and temperatures forecasted to climb close to 70! I must say, I’m not disappointed it has waited this long to warm up. Heat will come soon enough…

Within our four walls...a little school and quite a few chores.

A heart of thanksgiving...for the sunshine, a good night’s sleep, no damage from the storms that started blowing through Sunday around 3:00 AM (which is why we really needed a good night’s sleep last night!), and the chance to visit with Grandpa Friday after our Tuesday trip was cancelled (he went into the hospital Monday night and was there until Wednesday).

A heart of prayer...stamina for my dad as he and his brother and sister take turns with round-the-clock care for Grandpa. Also for a friend who is dealing with her father’s sudden health crisis.

My silly children...have been deprived in their education. We all love Visual Latin, and they have a great April Fool’s joke. I will be honest, I really hate pranks, but this was one of those truly funny jokes. Unfortunately, despite my children’s love for Dwane Thomas and Visual Latin, they could not really enjoy the joke because we have yet to expose them to the wonders of Star Trek. Tragedy, I know.

Thoughts from the kitchen...shepherd’s pie today – perfect use of leftover potatoes and burgers!

On my bookshelf...a review book entitled Larkin’s Journal – YA fantasy fiction that the girls have already devoured. Trying to motivate myself to read it.

Projects...I’ve made a good bit of progress on Olivia’s crocheted shrug, even though I’ve had to drastically alter the pattern because my yarn is a size too big to match the gauge of the pattern. Hopefully it will look okay!

I have all the rough drafts written for my major writing project. Hopefully editing won’t take too long. It feels good to have that much done.

We did get the ministers’ wives blog launched! YAY! What an awesome team we have! Go to www.arminwives.com or click on the image to check it out…feel free to share it!

Sounds of the moment...silence. No children noises. No music. No nothing except the normal hum of an electrified life. I wonder how many noises I would discover if I lived without electricity. No, I don’t really care to find out.

A favorite thing from last week...good trip to Judsonia.

The planner...light school week – math and language arts only – while I get the final six weeks planned. Bernina Club on Thursday and then yard work later this week, if the dry forecast holds.

Because visuals are fun...aren’t they handsome? This is Steven with Read, one of the younger boys at church. We finished Sunday school early, so they played for a few minutes. These two really enjoy each other’s company.