Daybook: September 24

in , by sarahmfry, September 24, 2012



::Outside My Window::
Absolutely gorgeous.   Autumn is here.  I should open the windows.  I am so glad for the crisp chill in the air and the golden autumn light.  I am glad that the leaves are turning slowly here.....I want it to last and last. And then snow. : )

::I am Listening to::
 Was listening to Cece Winans, but is started getting on my nerves.  So no music right now.  Not sure what I'm in the mood for.

::I am Thankful For::
This is random and weird, but it's what I thought of:

I am thankful that my hearing loss is in my right ear and not my left.  I was playing the violin yesterday - listening closely -  and thinking how much more difficult it would be if my violin ear were the bad one.   I'm just so glad that the ear that is down close to my violin is my better ear.

(Explanation:  They think that my hearing loss can be corrected with surgery that replaces the middle ear bone.  Waiting until we have insurance someday to get an official diagnosis and make a decision about surgery.)


:: Some of what I've been reading::

This article "A Parents Tip Sheet for Owning Fewer Toys"  was not so helpful, a bit redundant or not really where we are.

This one resonated more:  Why Fewer Toys Will Actually Benefit Your Kids. 

And...Still reading John Rosemond's Discipline that Works  Very interesting & helpful.  My comments about the book were getting rather long here so I decided to make it a separate blog post later this week. 

I just added two new books to my Amazon wishlist.  Well, actually, I added them to my cart.  It's a horrendous habit, this adding books to my cart even though I know I'm not going to buy them.  I think it gives me a tiny portion of the thrill and joy of buying a new book.  It ensures that the book idea will be saved (when it gets moved to the "saved for later" part under my cart),  and there's always the chance that David will accidentally order it when he orders a book for school!!  He hasn't complained about my Amazon-almost-buying habit yet.  And it works for me. : )

15 Minutes Outside:  365 ways to get out of the house and connect with your kids



And....I was struggling with a SEVERE temptation to buy one of the above books which was conveniently already in our Amazon cart.  But I disciplined myself and checked the online library catalog first and - HAPPY DAY - our library has both of these books.  Now I feel myself being irresistibly drawn to the library sometime in the near future.

::From the Kitchen::
Tonight, planning to try a new chicken recipe I found on pinterest.  I already bought the rice vinegar and fresh rosemary, so I HAVE to make it. : )

::I am Thinking::
That I wish I had time to blog every day. I firmly believe that we make time for what we really want.  So I must not want it as much as I want other things.

::I am Creating::
I finally have our Scripture notebooks in working order.  I have the last 15 days of montly Scriptures yet to type out and put into place, but we are all excited to be using our notebooks.  Too much to explain here (another blog post for another time?)

AND....I am creating messes to create order.  Yard sale, here we come!

:: Towards raising hungry learners::
I think I had some brilliant thought about this this morning at 2am after one of the kid-wakings.  My brain began writing, and those of you who have brains that write know what a pain-in-the-neck that can be. I laid there, waiting for my brain to quit writing so I could go back to sleep.  Problem is,  my brain can't remember what it wrote this morning at 2am.

::Towards Rhythm and Beauty::
Every time I finish a project I love to bask in the order and simplicity....slowly but surely.

::To Live the Life ::
We just finished up a wonderful week of revival with Rev. John Manley. I was strengthened and encouraged and challenged.

Been thinking of several things:  One is about the deep settled peace of doing what is right and wise for us and our family and our ministry,  even if we don't necessarily believe that it is biblically forbidden.  What?!  Finding freedom in NOT acting on our freedom?   Nothing like it.

 The Holy Spirit has also reminded me of keeping my focus right....keeping my mind and words in "Trusting Completely" mode, not "What Can I do to Figure Things Out" mode. : )

::I am Hoping and Praying::
For some long-time prayers to be answered for people very close to our hearts. 

 :: In the Garden::
I found gorgeous, big pumpkins at Kroger for 3/$1!  Oh joy, oh bliss, oh happy autumn.  We don't have a Kroger in our town so I need to come up with a reason to go back to Lebanon and spend a whopping $3 more for another load of orange happiness.

 ::Around the House::
Did a major decluttering in the girls's room on Saturday.  The rest of the cleaning suffered and some friends saw my house a mess, but it was oh-so-worth it.   I probably do this about twice a year, when I spend quite a few hours sorting and culling and re-organizing.  The girls are hoarders in their own way, but they were good about getting rid of bags of stuff.  I have used the labeled bin system for close to 10 years, but the bins needed some tweaking.  The girls wanted to keep 2 bins of HORSES!  So I told them okay...but it all has to fit in the bins so you may have to get rid of something else to keep your cherished horses.

We got out the handy-dandy labeler and did even more labeling.  I reminded them (probably too many times) that everything has a specific place, so putting things away is a breeze.

I absolutely love the feeling after the biggie is done...they spend even more happy hours in their room, reading, listening, drawing.  Their things seem new.  I am wishing that we could just always have it that way and never get behind on it, but also reminding myself that the cycles of life are okay.  Go with it and grow with it, girl.


::A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week::
Continuing my house purge in preparation for our yard sale Saturday.  Every time I have a yardsale I decide it isn't worth it. I'm a slow learner. 

Today: (DESK DAY)  the boys' toys (think PILE dumped on the floor....) and a little more clothes sorting.
Tuesday:  (ERRANDS DAY) The fridge and cabinets are well-stocked, so I may be able to skip running around and stay home to cull the bathroom baskets & dining room craft shelves
Wednesday:  (LAUNDRY & CLOTHES DAY) Basement
Thursday:  (Teach lessons from 8:30-6:00) Move all treasures from storage to the yard sale location
Friday:  (CLEANING DAY)  Will probably skip the cleaning in order to set up and price the sale.
Saturday:  Spend all day sitting outside in the gorgeous fall weather selling junk....and go to bed exhausted, but with hopefully a little furniture savings in my pocket.

 ::One of My Favorite Things::
My handy-dandy labeler.  Helps me with working towards "a place for everything and everything in its place."  It's AMAZING to me how much it helps my brain to have everything labeled.  Takes away so much of the decision-making about everything in my hands so I can be more automatic.  Guess you'd have to have a distracted brain like mine to understand.  I know some "born organized" ladies do not understand this brain phenomenon. 

::The Kids::

Kayla:  My brain has been mulling over her love for being alone.  She is simply content to not follow the crowd.  I love that.  But I also want to be sure I'm in tuned for any imbalances that might be present from her introverted-ness. (She reads my blog, so I just wanted to say...."You're absolutely, beautifully awesome Kayla.  God told me when you were a young, strong & spirited toddler that he made you as you are for a purpose. And thanks for laughing at my jokes.")  Oh...and she is questioning her ability to go into medicine after hearing a young doctor at Connor Prairie describe their old-fashioned methods for amputating limbs.  She turned green and quickly wanted to move on to the next cottage. : )

Karissa:  We are anxiously and impatiently waiting the arrival of her new 1/4 size violin on our doorstep this week...Thank you Aunt De!  We love you all the way across the ocean!

Caiden: He got to pop an incentive balloon at school.  So now he is officially the class photographer for this week.  His friend Kent popped a balloon as well and gets to wear a hat in class all week.  So....They have worked out a brilliant system in which Caiden takes a picture of Kent wearing his hat.  What a team!

David decided this morning to go ahead and start Caiden on our easy Latin  curriculum to keep his little self  busy at school.  Oh,  how I feel for his teacher.  She is such a wise and patient woman.  He's in a bit of a stage right now, and his energy can be rather obnoxious at times.  He is excited about the extra subjects she has added to keep him busy.  He makes me laugh.

Corin:  He is NOT enjoying getting left behind when daddy and "the kids" go to school.  He scurries around getting dressed (always backwards pants) and filling his backpack to the brim.  Then he walks around importantly, waiting for everyone else to get ready.   I tell him over and over that he can't go to school, but he insists that yes, big boys go to school -  is still absolutely brokenhearted when they leave.  He gets happy and okay pretty quickly, though.  And today when we stopped by school to take David his medicine he went in to say hi to daddy and didn't seem to mind leaving.

I just now heard him in the other room playing with his cars - crashing them together with all of his boy noises.  He said in his tough voice......"Hey, you wanna piece of me?!"  Then immediately followed with..."You're not allowed to say that. It's the wools (rules)."  At least his conscience is working, even during imaginary car-crashing playtime.  (He got in trouble for saying this to a real person at volleyball practice this week!)

:: The Man of the House ::
I love sharing the joy of walking as Christians together.  Maybe it sounds corny, but could there be a bigger gift in marriage than "checking in" with one another and knowing that all is well spiritually?  Of walking hand-in-hand towards a deeper, higher place?

Plus he does dishes sometimes.  And he installed a new kitchen faucet and water purifier for me this week.  And the yard looks gorgeous after his mowing.  And he's working on a big project that the whole family is crazy excited about.  And making good progress on his writing.  Wonderful, wonderful man.

:: Love this Quote! ::



Part of a letter written by Beethoven as he grappled with his deafness:

Free me of only half this affliction and I shall be a complete,
mature man. You must think of me as being as happy as it is
possible to be on this earth - not unhappy.  No! I cannot endure
it. I will seize Fate by the throat. It will not wholly conquer
me! Oh, how beautiful it is to live - and live a thousand times over!


:: A Picture from our world::
Caiden - 3 years ago (November 2009)




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