Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, August 8, 2011

Outside my window...  the sun is shining and a breeze is blowing.  Eight or nine kids are milling around, because I won't let them play in the house.  (Mean old mom wants them out in the fresh air.)

I am thinking...  the summer is FLYING by, the perception aided by the fact that summer weather didn't arrive until about a week ago.  We are plugging away at our science lessons, but will need to start ramping up in just two weeks.  Also, I need a new picture for this feature... without the Big Tree!

I am thankful for...  SO MUCH hard work in the last week.  We got that entire tree down, limbed, bucked up, split, hauled away, AND the stump ground - all in one week.  The boys are still sifting and spreading the dirt (rocks, wood chips) that got churned up by the stump grinder, but I am AMAZED.

I am praying for...  my mom and her radiation treatments.  She's so close to done, but having some unpleasant effects.  Also praying for Dominic - the husband of a friend.  He had a TBI after a fall and is having surgery today to replace bone they had to remove from his skull, due to swelling.  Praying for the surgery and for his continued (awesome!) recovery.  And - of course - work for Kerry.

I am wearing...  shorts, tank top, aloha shirt, flip-flops.

I am creating...  working on our school schedule, and "processing" some new books we've received - need to be cataloged and labeled before they go on our organized shelves :D  A lady from church that I don't even know well approached me with a bag of books yesterday.  "Your boys say they like to read.  Can you use these?"  Yah!  Nearly all were (good!) historical fiction, and a few other regular fiction.  Yippee :D

I am going...  to keep plugging away, day by day.

I am reading...  nothing at the moment.  Anticipating starting The World-Tilting Gospel.

I am hoping...  have told the boys that they should expect to do school work and one solid hour of labor each day.  Now to keep a step ahead of them...

I am hearing...  a mass of kids in the back yard.

I am remembering...  how clueless I felt when we first started homeschooling... four years ago.

From the learning rooms...  a bag full of feathers we've collected (some pretty orange ones from flickers, and blue from the Steller jays), a plate full of bones from some owl pellets we've picked apart, sand that needs to finish drying out, the butterfly habitat out to remind me to order caterpillars, and Wyatt's chapter review that I need to grade.

From the kitchen...  hmmm, I think maybe we'll BBQ tonight :D

Around the house...  oh good heavens, it's a wreck.  I really let things go while we were working furiously on The Tree.  Time to get back in the groove...

On my mind...  my brother is getting married in just over FOUR WEEKS!

Cannot believe it!

Noticing that...  once again, the mess in my office reflects the mess in my brain.

Or vice versa.

One of my favorite things...  window screens, amen?

A few plans for the week...  my calendar is blissfully empty.

Here is a picture I am sharing...

The boys have been to, I think, THREE air shows so far this summer,

but this motorcycle took the cake ;D