Not Quite Ordinary Observations
For Today...Monday, Sept 7, 2015
In the great outdoors...hot. But, another cool front is supposed to be coming in mid-week. Yay!
Within our four walls...a nice start to our new week. Doug gets to be home today because the church offices are closed for Labor Day. I like that! I’ve missed his home office.
A heart of thanksgiving...for my precious family and all of the wonderful hugs I get.
A heart of prayer...for sweet baby Elijah, his parents Alex & Lauren, and his precious extended family, which includes our youth minister Brad and his wife Sheila (Lauren’s parents), and their four other children. Elijah was diagnosed with heart issues shortly after we moved three months ago, with doctors telling Alex and Lauren that he’d face surgery very shortly after birth.
Elijah made his appearance early Friday morning and was transferred to Children’s Hospital shortly thereafter. Tomorrow he will undergo the first of what is planned to be three heart surgeries. This precious little four-day-old will be in surgery for anywhere from ten to sixteen hours.
Random observations...eleven years ago, right about this time, we watched our dear friends and neighbors go through very similar experiences with their newborn son. In fact, if I remember correctly, he had his first heart surgery when he was eight days old – on Sept 7.
My sweet children...asked several times if we were going to do school today, but have not complained about it. They’re really pretty good kids!
Thoughts from the kitchen...I need to put menu items on the calendar for this week. I have the list of what we’re going to eat the rest of the month – I just haven’t divided that list out to cover specific days.
Today, though, Doug’s home. And he’ll be grilling a pork loin. And my mouth is already watering.
On my bookshelf...book one of Tricia Goyer’s Spanish Civil War series – Valley of Betrayal. I started it before Patrick W. Carr’s long-awaited novella By Divine Right showed up on my Kindle, so I’m going to go ahead and finish what I’m on before switching. But, I’m really looking forward to that one! Meanwhile, I’m still working on Unbroken and Everyday Grace.
Projects...making great progress on the school prep. Starting to think toward Christmas. I haven’t done a whole lot in the way of homemade gifts lately. I miss doing it. Hopefully I’ll get to do more this year, but we’ll see!
Sounds of the moment...washing machine. So thankful for a washing machine! Oh, and a whinnying horse and gobbling turkey. Our neighbor seems to have quite the farm – we’ve seen chickens (they make their way into our yard on occasion), horses, mules, and dogs. This morning we saw a HUGE turkey for the first time. He looked more like a wild turkey than a domestic one, but he was roaming about the neighbor’s yard like he owned the place.
From Hibbard Academy...yes, mean ole Mommy is making the kids do school on Labor Day. But, I’ll be making it up to them later this week!
A favorite thing from last week...a couple of very low-key days with Angie’s birthday on Friday and a mostly relaxed Saturday. So needed!
The planner...we were thinking about going to watch the Travelers – our minor league baseball team – play their last game today. But, I broke out in a lovely rash of hives over the weekend, and it’s going to be a hot day. I don’t think I’m up for sweating through a game while covered in hives.
So, instead, we’ll enjoy a Monday as a family, processing through our normal school routine and perhaps doing something out of the ordinary this afternoon. Who knows?
Most of the rest of the week is normal – well, except for an apple picking date with the Choates later this week. Yay! Then on Saturday we’ll join other Arkansas Baptists for our state convention’s annual One Day Mission Trip. Doug and Steven will be helping with a fishing derby while the girls and I prayer walk around Arkadelphia.
Because visuals are fun...I’m snagging one of Doug’s pictures today.
James the Big Cow, Angie’s “Daddy” cow, has been rather useful around the house and office over the past few days. Here he is getting ready to help Doug edit and upload sermon videos from yesterday.
He’s also been seen researching pork recipes this morning. Seems he wants to make sure the proper meats are put on the grill today.
Comments
Gunnar thought he wanted to go ahead and do school on Labor Day so he could still have Friday off, but we just didn't get around to it.
No big deal.
Cool weather this week makes it easier to concentrate on school work.
Julie