Not Quite Ordinary Observations

Something about Today…Thursday, March 16, 2017

Well, when I started this post, it was a chilly, cloudy morning. It stayed chilly throughout the day, but it cleared up a bit and we got some sunshine. And, it’s Thursday! For us, that means we’re almost there – almost to our day of rest. After years of not having a consistent day of rest, we’ve quickly become addicted to our Fridays. But, we haven’t had the freedom to enjoy our Friday rest for several weeks now, and we are feeling it. We’re very much looking forward to tomorrow.

Something about the Week

Winter finally arrived over the weekend, with three nights of freeze warnings. We didn’t get the snow some of our friends a little further north did, but the wind is biting. I’ve often wondered what it is about southern winter winds. I thought I was just a “cold wimp” until I heard northern friends – more than one, on more than one occasion – comment about our wind. Even though the temperatures are not as low as they might be further north, there are certain times when that wind feels like a frigid whip.

But, in typical Arkansas fashion, we awoke to cold this morning and it is forecasted to be back up in the 70’s by tomorrow!

Something I Have Observed

Doug, Olivia, and I have to work hard on time management. We use planners and timers to try to keep us on track, but ultimately, it comes back to diligence. As Angela gets older, she’s increasingly needing the same tools.

It’s fun to watch Olivia and Angela work on their time management, especially when I think back to myself at their age. I was not good at time management as a teen, and it has forced me to have to break a lot of habits over the course of my adult years. The girls, though, are learning young. They are recognizing bad habits, working to correct them, and seeking to build good habits. They are also asking for prayer and advice when they struggle. I never did that as a teenager. Oh, I talked to my mom about all sorts of things. And we prayed together over all sorts of needs. But I never even thought to let her know about my school-related stress, my feelings of never being able to relax or rest, and the constant weight that rested on my shoulders. My girls do, though. And I love praying and talking through solutions with them!

Something I Have Read or Heard

“We all need to teach and encourage another with the theology of uncomfortable grace, because on this side of eternity, God’s grace often comes to us in uncomfortable forms. It may not be what you and I want, but it is precisely what we need. God is faithful; He will use the brokenness of the world that is your present address to complete the loving work of personal transformation that He has begun. Now that’s grace!”

- Paul David Tripp, from New Morning Mercies

Something on My Mind

Work and writing projects Doug and I are both trying to get done.

Traveling friends.

The Choates and their upcoming consultation on the Lavukaleve books of Ruth, Jonah, and portions of Matthew. How exciting!

Something I’m Thankful for

Friday!

Technology, even when it makes me crazy like it did today.

Changing seasons.

Something about My Kids

Oh how I wish I’d been keeping up with their silliness this week! I forget so easily. But they really are so much fun.

On Monday, there was much goofiness as we filled out the paperwork for all three of them before their eye exams. Questions like, “What is your marital status?” always incite laughter and jokes.

The exams showed what we expected: no real vision changes. Olivia’s current glasses are getting a little small for her head and are very scratched, so we knew it was time for a new pair. Angie and Steven were happy to not be getting glasses…until Olivia started the process of picking out her new pair. That’s when Angela saw a hot pink pair and tried it on, just for the fun of it. Then Olivia called her a prissy nerd. That was it. She wanted the glasses!

Then there was Steven today. He delivered invitations and tickets to his Nerf gun show. First was an open house to display his arsenal. He walked us through each Nerf gun, it’s advantages and disadvantages, and details about which ones were his favorites and why. Stage two was a shooting session where we all got to try out our favorites.

And, Olivia is working on a song to sing at church soon. She loves music and is good at it, but singing is a talent she has had to work on. I’m so proud of her for working hard to practice this song and strengthen her voice and ear.

Something I’m Working on

Writing projects

Something from Hibbard Academy

We had an almost normal week. Yay!

Something That Makes Me Smile

The patience and creativity of my children.

Something Coming

A day of rest and a day of working down the home to-do list!