Saturday Brain Dump

1.  Ahhhh, a peaceful day.

The boys spent part of the morning working for an older couple from our church, then went out with friends for an air-soft battle this afternoon.  And I had...

... a quiet house.

I love my boys.  They're great boys :D  But there are times I just want peace and quiet.

2.  The Mother-Load still covers nearly a page, but nothing is urgent.  I paid the bills, prepped for school next week, caught up on the laundry, and - LO! - even tidied up my office.  I know, I know, will miracles never cease?

3.  We visited the in-laws earlier this week.  

And the upside is that I read all the way through The Hobbit and all but the last chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring in three days.  Finished The Two Towers yesterday (lots of reading time, waiting for appointments in Seattle), and I'm hoping to get all the way through The Return of the King before we start back up homeschooling.

Given the choice, we'd all rather stay home all through the break, but we've been on the road a lot.  I'd hoped to combine the Seattle trip with the in-law trip but that didn't work out.  And Kerry will be on the road tomorrow for a friend's 50th.  Crazy!  

We want Christmas to feel like this...

... but sometimes it ends up more like this...

So I'm extra thankful for this quiet day at home!

4.  Gee, I'm not sure there's enough chocolate in the house... (sarcasm off).  We were joking about it at the Great Scott Christmas Festivus a couple weeks ago, and came to the realization that in this house the alcohol (what little there is of it - some beer for making chili and a half a bottle of two-buck-Chuck) is just stashed in the cupboard, but the chocolate I have to keep under lock and key.  Go figure.

5.  I'm in the mood for sewing again.  I always have dreams of giving hand-made gifts at Christmas, but no time to make them.  I'm not so good at sewing that I can go very fast, you know?  And this year - like every year - I have dreams (delusions?) of planning waaaay ahead, and starting on gifts NOW.

Wish me luck :D

6.  Almost half way...  while I was puttering around, readying myself to get back to school, I realized we are heading into Week 16 of 36.  Nearly half-way through our work!  That's a good feeling.

7.  I'm still amazed by Tate...  how he can walk into what was just a routine audiology appointment, get what could be devastating news (profoundly deaf), and make a life-altering decision without batting an eye.  He's completely comfortable, positive, and confident about moving forward with the second implant.  (This from the boy who had trouble choosing which of three CD's to play on the ride home... sheesh.)  He's fearless.

7.  New year, new hopes...  we haven't heard anything yet about the job Kerry is applying for.  I'm so leery of getting my hopes up, but I can't help myself.  If he gets this job it will be the first time in twelve years that we've had any kind of predictable income.

Twelve years.

I know, I know, I have to trust in the Lord and not in money.

But, oh Lord, some stability would sure be a blessing.