Not Quite Ordinary Observations

For Today...Monday, October 21, 2013

In the great outdoors...sun coming and going, but it looks like it’s mostly coming. Nice, fall feeling to the air. Oh how I love cool weather!

Within our four walls...washing, washing, washing. The washer and dryer are getting a workout today!

A heart of thanksgiving...for answered prayer, changing seasons, the energy that cool weather brings, and generous friends.

A heart of prayer...for a family dealing with saying hello and goodbye to their precious newborn all in one day; for friends needing wisdom; for a friend facing surgery this week; for allergy issues to just go away.

Random observations...I like being hydrated. I don’t like the interruptions to my work flow that accompany staying hydrated. TMI? Sorry…just being real. 

My prissy daughter...is very excited right now. We are preparing for a trip, and I informed the children that they needed to pick clothing that they did not want to wear on the trip. Angie’s response was pure delight – that statement was essentially an instruction to spend the next couple of days in dress-up clothes. Her only disappointment is that she can’t just live in her antebellum dress while we’re traveling. 

Thoughts from the kitchen...today we’re taking some chili leftovers and creating a sort of lasagna with tortillas. Something different. We’ll see how it tastes!

On my bookshelf...well…I’m determined to get caught up on review books. Yep. I’m gonna do it!

Projects...today I need to help Olivia make a warm gown for our trip. It dawned on me that she might need it since the temps are expected to drop below freezing. *smile*

Sounds of the moment...lawn mower, dishwasher, happy voices of playing children.

From Hibbard Academy...no school for two weeks, with the exception of a little bit of independent work during convention days next week.

A favorite thing from last week...watching my precious son’s face as he watched a prayer being answered. We’ve seen many prayers answered as a family, but this has been HIS prayer. As we start school each morning, we each pray over someone’s salvation. He typically chooses his friends from church. Last night after church, one of those friends made a beeline for Doug (with no prompting or encouragement from his parents). Steven was standing nearby, and he determined very quickly that his friend was talking to Daddy about becoming a Christian. I saw my big boy’s face start to glow – I can’t believe Moses’ face was much brighter than his in that moment!! He was jumping up and down and could hardly contain himself! The joy of a brand new salvation was made incredibly sweeter by watching my son’s faith grow as he rejoiced.

The planner...for the next couple of days, we are completely focused on getting enough work done to cover being gone for a week. Then, vacation time!!! We’ll head to Branson for a few days, then we’ll drive back down into northwest Arkansas for the annual meeting of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (leaving the highly trained and heavily armed ninja monkeys to guard the house – you’ve been warned). Yes, we’re just a wee bit excited!

Because visuals are fun...my other reading material. This new issue arrived late last week. I’ve had a chance to skim it, but I’m looking forward to really diving in!