Daybook: August 21

by sarahmfry, August 21, 2012
I really, really miss blogging!  I quit blogging for quite awhile for several reasons.  Some of them I am still pondering, but I really do miss it.  I have this horrible infirmity of wanting to "catch up" on things.  But there is absolutely no way I can catch up. So I'm just going to jump in and blog when I feel like it.  Thought a daybook would be a way to cover some ground.

::Outside My Window::
Absolutely gorgeous day.  This weather is like happy juice to the bones.  I am looking at my awesome,  (clearance buy) solar paper lanterns hanging on my gazebo.

::I am Listening to::
A chorus of those wonderful cricket-sounding creatures in the trees outside.  I would have to ask my friend Carrie exactly what creeping creature I am hearing.



::I am Thankful For::
An OB doc who I love.  Wonderful visit today, we talked about shoes and her schedule and me going back to school and she asked me about teaching her twins piano.   And most of all?  She's very supportive and encouraging, but lets me labor and deliver the way I want/need to!  No pressure to do things the "hospital" way (within reason, of course).   She stayed out of my way and let me do my thing.  Knowing I have her gives me courage for this next delivery.  I've had docs who weren't so great.  One of them I had to almost yell at as he ran out the door if I had a question at a checkup.  Another got aggravated at me cuz I dared deliver my baby before he could wake up from his nap.  I feel myself climbing upon a soapbox, so I will gracefully step down and just say I'm very thankful for Dr. Sara Stephenson at Creekside OB/Gyn!

::I am Pondering::
The balance of sharing realness and maintaining the safety of privacy.

:: Some of what I've been reading::
Just finished "Growing Grateful Kids"I would actually re-name this great book "Growing Godly Kids."  It's all about being the right kind of parent.

Re-started "The Well-Behaved Child"  John Rosemond is just awesome.  (We were directed to him by our parenting mentor at Wesley, Dr. Matt Friedeman.)  We love Rosemond's practical, old-fashioned wisdom about parenting.  I started this awhile ago, then David read it and loved it.  He keeps telling me I need to finish it, so finish it I shall.

::From the Kitchen::
  It has been a strange summer, and we talked last night as we gathered around our happy supper table how ready we are for the structure of the school year.  We eat better, too, when we have regular meals and I work from my little meal-plan.
::I am Thinking::
About the bed situation in our house.  We retired the girls' squeaky metal bunk bed, and I have been scouring Craigslist faithfully for months for the right beds for all 4 kids.  We really starting to consider building our own quadruple bunks.

::I am Creating::
Scripture notebooks for each of us to go along with our Charlotte Mason Scripture Memory system.  I am just too visual to do all that memorizing only verbally -  without something in front of my eyes.


:: Towards raising hungry learners::
We are enjoying a free month trial on AdaptedMind.  The kids have been in the mood to get back to learning, and this is a fun way to brush up and get the math brain juices flowing!  They love earning badges. I'm not sure what is possessing them to want to do math the last week of summer, but I'll humor their weirdness.   I just have to remember to cancel before I get charged next month.  If we were homeschooling, we might consider the $10 per month, but we're not.  I am thinking this might be a great tool if they ever have to transition from ACE to ABeka math.


::Towards Rhythm and Beauty::
Dishes and laundry are really the key to my home-keeping world.  It's an amazingly simple, but constant fact.

::To Live the Life ::
Ready to find a new Bible Study or devotional book.  I like Beth Moore, but to be honest I usually don't get through the 45-minute sessions so one study stretches out so long it seems to lose some of its continuity for me.  Maybe I should try one again before my brain turns to post-partum mush again.

 ::I am Hoping and Praying::
For God's clear and specific guidance in our lives as David wraps up this PhD.   I have been reminded over and over that He has always led us to the next step - with Divine clarity - in every step so far.  We're in good Hands.  It's so good to not be in charge. : )

 :: In the Garden::
ha!  What garden? My black thumb reigneth.  Our Bonsai tree from our Spring Break trip to Florida (affectionately named "Flora")  is still alive and kicking in the kitchen window, though.  David has started clipping and shaping her, so she's a bit lopsided, with a definite Bonsai flair.

 ::Around the House::
Spending many hours the last couple of weeks working on rentals (our own in Cincinnati and my Father-in-law's here in Frankfort) has actually made cleaning my own house more fun!

 ::One of My Favorite Things::
How wonderful it feels to get the kids to bed early.  That feeling of life settling itself back into the routine of Steady Days.  That's two things.  I have lots more. : )  You should be proud of me for stopping at two.


::The Kids::

Kayla:  Turned 10 this summer.  She is literally growing up before my very eyes.  She is quiet, happy, introverted.  I am learning that her quietness does not mean something is wrong.  She got new glasses today.  It is absolutely freaking me out that she is the same age I was when the drama hit:  boys, emotions, all of it.   But she's like her daddy.  She takes most of life rather calmly.  Except for her 6-year-old brother.  He has the distinct honor and privilege of being the one thing in the universe that can send her COMPLETELY over the edge!

Karissa:  Turned 8 this summer.  I am SO looking forward to her help with this new baby.  She is incredibly nurturing and is still quite a little homemaker.  She's going through a challenging time for a bit here.  Or maybe I should say she's putting ME through a tough time!  She has an incredible exuberance (lives up to her name "Gift of Joy") but that intensity also manifests itself in the negative spectrum, too.  I won't share the gory details, but she is helping me with  my prayer life. I'll just say that.  Jesus help us.

Caiden.  Turned 6 this summer.  He has a new hilarious/embarrassing habit. When he meets strangers who ask him how old he is, he says, in a flash without even a breath.  "I'm six and I can snorkel!"  Or "I'm six and I'm reading Tom Swift!"  Right now he is scarfing down frozen waffles and he told me, "You're the best mom in the universe!  And trust me on that."   Never quite sure if I should laugh or cry at his constant verbal antics.  He wants to be an army guy or a missionary.  We've talked about the possibility of him being both at the same time.  The army/air force (he can't decide which yet) won't know what hit it.

Corin:  Turned 3 this summer and won't let me call him my baby anymore.  He also insists on wearing sleeves that hit him directly at the wrist and having his shirt tucked in, no matter how nerdy he may look.  He really seems to be understanding about the new baby.  He loves on it and kisses my tummy.  He was looking forward to the ultrasound today, to see "pictures" of our baby.  But when he saw the ultrasound, he was most definitely NOT impressed.  Admittedly, even the 4D was not very good and the baby still looks rather "skeletal" as the tech put it.  Corin scowled, scrunched up half of his face (you have to see him do it to understand the cuteness) and said...."I want a DIFFERENT one!"  In other news, he finally weaned rather easily off his passie this summer (when we lost the last one), and then one day he tossed his favorite blankie off the bed and said, "I don't need that.  I'm a big boy."  End of blankie, end of passie.  I'm sad but relieved. : )

::A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week::
Today:  Ultrasound, Dr. visit, Pick up Kayla's glasses, & downsizing the girls' room
Wed:  A massive desk-catch-up day, Kids Klub & We Care
Thurs:  Downsizing in the boys' room,  PTF meeting, 
Fri:  Kids' first day of school


:: Love this Quote! ::
The trouble with simple living is that, though it can be joyful, rich, and creative, it isn't simple.  ~Doris Janzen Longacre
So true.  I have been on quite a journey of simplicity, and I will say that it takes some tough determination and steady commitment!


:: A Picture from our world::

I am itching to add more pics.  Pictures make everything more fun.  But I keep forgetting to switch our camera setting from RAW mode when I take normal daily pictures, and I am not in the mood to open Photoshop to convert pictures right now.  I'd rather do laundry. : )  Here's a jpeg I found from earlier in the summer.


I'm an aunt!  Aunt Sarah.  I think I like the sound of that.  This is Karissa holding her new cousin - Joaquin Xavier Biddle.  We're pretty crazy about him.  His Parents:  David's older sister Tami and husband Davin. 

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