Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, Monday, October 21, 2013  

Outside my window...  still dark, but the fog usually indicates a sunny day is coming.

Hearing...  Wyatt getting his bike out of the shed to ride to school.  He can take the school bus, but prefers to ride his bike.  Me too, since I don't need to go pick him up ;D  (He's only there half-day.)  But soon it will be too dark and too wet to ride safely.

Pondering...  Joanna, you're right!  I was thinking of you when I posted the second batch of fall photos :D  But of myself as well.  The truth is, I love color and light!  And around here, we do have green year round (The Evergreen State) but in the winter, all the plant life goes dormant.  Under dark, gray, cloudy skies, green and brown can get very drab.  I'm soaking in all the autumn splendor I can hold, as if I could store up beauty and color against the long, cold, dark months ahead.

Oh heavens, that sounds more depressing than it is.  When all is yuck outside, I use a lot of color and light inside the house.  But - oh - this season is glorious!

Praying...  work for Kerry, for sick kids (not mine, thankfully), for the week to go smoothly with everyone staying on top of things.

Thankful...  the boys had a fun weekend (movie marathon!) with Uncle Dave, and we got Naomi thrown into the bargain as a bonus.  Lots of fun :D  Also thankful for the one-day women's retreat I attended with friends from church - good teaching and fun to be with "the girls".

Wearing...  old, ratty things for our morning walk.  Then probably jeans and a sweater.

Going...  to finally get the upstairs rooms swept/dust-mopped.  It's overdue.

Reading...  N.D. Wilson's 100 Cupboards series, along with Tate and Gunnar.  And we're ALL enjoying it.  Also, reading C.S. Lewis' Perelandra aloud with the family, but it's taking forever as our evenings are so fragmented.  *sigh*

Looking forward to...  a tidy office (today's project).

In the kitchen...  leftover stew for dinner tonight - perfect as Wyatt and I will be out to rehearsal tonight so we won't be eating together.

In the learning rooms...  oh boy.  I need to go through Wyatt's stuff from last week.  I try to schedule all his home-school work in a four-day week, (which is what I do for the other boys who are FT homeschool).  That way, Friday can be a lot freer, or it can be a catch-up day if needed.  And Wyatt often needs it.  He's not lazy, it just takes him longer to get his work done.

He was so proud of himself last week because he was keeping up on everything - doing great.  And then came Thursday.  He and Tate both had eye doctor appointments that ate up most of the afternoon, and the dilation drops threw their eyes out of focus for the rest of the day, and staying caught up went right out the window.

He worked hard over the weekend, but we already had family stuff planned that I wasn't going to take away from him.  So... this week he's going to be going flat-out, since he's got plans this weekend as well!  (Going to a CAP training weekend for NCOs.)

Around the house...  we only had Naomi here for a little while, but had to move things around to keep them out of reach of little hands, AND to keep her away from the front window.  She loves to pull herself up on the (low) windowsill and look out at the yard and street, but we couldn't let her near

With two adults and three responsible boys keeping an eye on her, it wasn't a problem :D

The Mother Load...  did not get any attention at all over the weekend, and looms over me like an avalanche about to fall.  *sigh*  Time to review my motto...

When you do stuff, stuff gets done.

I know, I'm a deep thinker and all.

Noticing that...  clutter breeds.  Ugh.

Something to remember for later...  my boys... they are a bit strange at times.

We were playing with Naomi.  Playing the "What does the _____ say?" game.  She knows chicken - bok bok.  And bird - ca-CAW (lots of crows around).  And one or two others.  On the way home from church we saw lots of cows, so we started asking "What does the COW say?"

Meanwhile, we'd been joking about an old "Silly Songs With Larry" episode (yah, Veggie Tales!) called The Yodeling Veterinarian of the Alps.  And in a strange cross-breeding of conversations came up with,

"What does the cow say?"
"Yodel-ee-yodel-ee-yodel-ee."

One of my favorite things...  order.

A Bible verse...  Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him
and He will make your paths straight.

A few plans for the rest of the week...  Messiah rehearsal, CAP, youthgroup, Tate's checkup... lots of routine.

A peek into my world...  a brand new pumpkin spice candle - yum!