Not Quite Ordinary Observations

For Today...Monday, February 15, 2016

In the great outdoors...cloudy, gloomy, wet from last night’s rain, and a little chilly, even though it’s supposed to be warming up this week. But, I’m very thankful for the rain. The fact that our yard is wet but not spongy from the rain indicates just how dry we’d gotten. 

Within our four walls...diligence for a new school day. There’s quiet right now as everyone pursues independent work.

A heart of thanksgiving...for a new liver for a church member!

A heart of prayer...for that church member and her family as she is in surgery right now to receive her new liver. So many complications with transplants.

Random observations...I love puzzles. And a couple of my children inherited my love for them. Well, Angie did. Steven enjoys them in short spurts. They drive Olivia crazy. She’s more like her daddy in that.

This puzzle, though, is far beyond anything even I have done! With a 3000 piece count, the completed puzzle will measure 48”x32”!  We had to be super creative just to come up with a surface for assembly, since the dining room table is kind of needing for this little thing called eating!

Typically we wouldn’t have even attempted such a thing, knowing how long it will take us to complete it since we only have spurts here and there to work on it. But, Doug saw this one months ago and couldn’t resist. It’s an old map, which he loves (we all do, but he especially loves them), and it’s really quite beautiful. You can tell he likes it, because even he has gotten in on the assembly action! (Of course, he does that now and then just because he loves me and knows I like puzzles.)

Olivia, meanwhile, is happy to just be the photographer for now.

Thoughts from the kitchen...some sourdough rolls are rising on the counter in preparation for today’s chicken & rice soup lunch. Yum.

On my bookshelf...same stuff. There are several daily habits I am seeking to re-establish. Reading is among them.

Projects...I finally finished the Pooh jacket. A little oversized and oddly shaped, but Steven likes it! Sweet boy – he likes my odd stuff.

Lots of writing and some editing upcoming. The girls need warm-weather robes, and I want to make something homemade for each birthday this year. Need to figure out what! 

Sounds of the moment...keyboards tapping; birds trilling outdoors; phone ringing…guess I should answer that!

From Hibbard Academy...Angie’s starting Sonlight’s Core G this week. I love this core. Some great books. But, I confess that one of the reasons I love this core is because some of the books are not-so-great, including the history text that is riddled with inaccuracies (Story of the World). Why is that great, you ask? Because my kids will be faced with MANY things in this world that are riddled with inaccurracies. Because they are all three history nerds (hmmm…wonder where they go that?), this is a great way to talk through the inaccuracies and learn how to spot and deal with such things.

A favorite thing from last week...honestly, last week is pretty much a blur. But, it was nice to reach my work hours limit early in the day on Friday so I could really focus on family time the rest of the day – especially since our Saturday and Sunday were packed from beginning to end.

The planner...a routine week, concluding with Olivia heading out for a youth activity while the rest of us attend Steven’s Blue & Gold Banquet.

Because visuals are fun...my beautiful girlies at work.