Not Quite Ordinary Observations

For Today...Monday, September 9, 2013

In the great outdoors...summer. It has arrived about the time it should be ending. But, it’s hard to complain after such incredible weather June through August! We still hope it won’t last long, though.

Within our four walls...my children playing, rather loudly. But, I love hearing them have such fun together, even if they do get loud and scary sometimes!

A heart of thanksgiving...for praying friends. Several of them specifically told me they were praying for me today. I needed to hear that. And I have definitely felt the prayers.

A heart of prayer...for wisdom and guidance in work and ministry – balance, etc. We’re about to hit our busiest time of the year, and I want to make sure to keep all of those priorities in order!

Also, continuing to pray for the farmers and harvest. Some have gotten off to a great start, others to a rough one. Still others are at their starting point now. So thankful that they share their ups and downs and let me pray with them!

Random observations...um…do you really want the randomness that is my mind today? I doubt it. Yeah, I think we’ll just leave this one alone.

My silly children...are singing “Rock On, Larry Boy!” at the tops of their lungs. It’s excitin’ round these here parts!

Thoughts from the kitchen...I’ve mentioned before that I’m not great with my children in the kitchen. But, I’m getting better. Today Olivia cooked lunch and I only supervised. If each child planned and prepared or helped prepare one meal a week, that would be nearly half the week. I could handle that!

Oh, and Olivia’s meal was parmesan chicken with garden vegetable rice. Quite delicious!

Meanwhile, they don’t want my help for suppers anymore. It’s usually simple – peanut butter sandwiches, smoothies, or cereal. But, they want to do it and they don’t want me in there! Hmmmm…

On my bookshelf...an Amish fiction novel, but I’ve actually forgotten the title. Oh! Leaving Lancaster – that’s it! I’m not as into Amish fiction as I used to be (I prefer historical fiction), but this one and its sequel have potential.

I’m more excited, though, about my two non-fiction books. Yes, I know, that is a HUGE SHOCK since I am such a fiction fanatic. But, I really am more excited about the non-fiction this time around. One is The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. I was going to speed-read through it for review purposes, but before I even finished the introduction I knew I needed to work through it slowly. If it continues as it started, I will be highly recommending it.

Then, there’s Undercover Homeschooler by my friend Shari Popejoy. Precious, precious lady. Fun author, too!

Projects...finishing up my white peasant blouse, now that summer’s about over! That’s just the way I roll. But, that means I’ll have a brand new top all ready for next spring. Also, I have an owl apron that has been on my to-do shelf forever. Want to make that. Otherwise, Christmas! And we definitely have some exciting projects planned!

Sounds of the moment...kids playing; computer humming; keyboard tapping; no music, oddly enough.

From Hibbard Academy...getting back to it after a week off. Fractions, carrying, metric conversions, sentence structure, punctuation, birds, ancient Egypt, Vikings, and evolution. I love homeschooling!

A favorite thing from last week...the look of utter joy and excitement on Angela’s face when she got her ears pierced.

The planner...mostly at home this week, which is nice. Gives me a chance to smoothly get back into the swing of school and get caught up on that pesky to-do list. Okay, so maybe just get a few things checked off of it. But still.

Because visuals are fun...Steven’s reaction to receiving a new jug of local honey (right as he finished off a jar he got from PopPop a couple of months ago). His words? “My honey! All mine!”