Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, Monday, April 14, 2014  

Outside my window...  frost on the ground, clear skies, birds chirping, and the sun just peeking over the hills - looks like a gorgeous day!  Which means Wyatt rides his bike to school (and I don't have to go get him) and I'll feel guilty if I don't work in the yard.  Especially since rain is forecast for the rest of the week.

Hearing...  Wyatt and Gunnar in the kitchen, Tate in the shower, robins and chickadees.

Pondering...  a former pastor took his life over the weekend, leaving a wife and two little kids.  While I wasn't particularly close to them, I can't get it out of my mind.  Of course I'm praying for her and the kids, but I'm SO MAD at him.  For doing that to them.

And I know, tender, gentler hearts than mine will say that we need to be compassionate and gracious, and that we can't imagine how much he must have been suffering.

And that is true.

But I can't help thinking that if we focused more on the shock, horror, misery and grief suicide leaves behind and less on the woe of the one who caused it... if we treated that person less like a victim...  it might remove just a little piece of what attracts people to suicide.

Praying...
for that family,
for our friend from the chapel going through chemo this week,
and for Wyatt and chemistry.  grrrrrrrrrr

Thankful...
for one more sunny day,
for the camaraderie of Saturday's work party at the chapel and all we got accomplished,
for good health in the family,
and friendly neighbors to sit and visit with.

Wearing...  capri jeans, a short-sleeve t-shirt, and a blue sweater... cold now, warm later - I hope.

Going...  staying home :D

Reading...  Age of Opportunity, by Paul David Tripp.

Looking forward to...  Easter!

In the kitchen...  thawing a pound of ground elk.  We'll probably have Taco Salad for dinner, unless something else inspires me.  (You know, from the 1,000,000 Things to Make With a Pound of Hamburger repertoire...)

In the learning rooms...  juggling the master schedule to accommodate boys who are jumping ahead in some areas and boys who have fallen behind in others.  And maybe arranging for some chemistry tutoring.  It's a tough subject!

Around the house...  thing I need to decide what to do with.  We did a great job cleaning over spring break, and got rid of a LOT, but there are still a few decisions...

The Mother Load...
* need to wrap up the cleaning blitz in my office, which was the staging area and thus not yet cleaned and tidied
* divide some bulbs before they start growing (quick!)
* get the window and door screens back on
* figure out what to do with the kitchen floor.

I love my kitchen floor.  It's real linoleum - not vinyl.  It's durable.  It doesn't crack, like vinyl will, if you drop a can (guilty) on it.  And it can be quickly mopped.  But every so often - at least once a year - it should be stripped and waxed.  We used to have a guy who would come and do it for eighty bucks, but he got out of the business.  So I've been limping along with good ol' Mop N Glo, which gives a "soft" shine, like this.

Okay, but not fabulous.

When I paid "the guy" to come do it, my floor looked like this, with a hard glassy finish.

Doesn't that just sing?  *Happy sigh*

But I have to find a new Floor Guy.  And the first one I called just gave me his bid - $475.
Well THAT stopped the music in a hurry.
I'll keep looking, but meanwhile, I think I'm stuck with Mop N Glo.

Noticing that...  Hey!  Total lunar eclipse tonight!  Your google is as good as mine as far as finding out the actual time for your area.  I think it will be about 11-midnight out here on the west coast, but I'm double checking.

Something to remember for later...  Gunnar and I have been out for a walk.  Every single time we go for a walk he talks my ear off, which is fine.  Right now it's all about three things:
1.  Easter, because his cousin will be there and have her first Easter egg hunt.
2.  The few days his cousin will be staying with us in the following week.
3.  His upcoming (13-year-old) trip to Disneyland.
And the details of his favorite rides.
Over.  And over.  And over again.

Then something new occurred to him.
"Mom, what will you do while I'm gone?"
Because, in shocking news, the world will continue to spin for the rest of us.  ;D

And the sad thing is, while he's in Disneyland, Wyatt has to have his wisdom teeth out, so let me tell you, it will be

fun times at the Grasshopper house!

A favorite quote for the day...

You can't get a cup of tea big enough

or a book long enough

to suit me.

C.S. Lewis

A few plans for the rest of the week...  Holy Week is a busy week - GOOD busy.

Monday - homeschool
Tuesday - homeschool, babysit (Gunnar), meeting about a teaching possibility, CAP
Wednesday - homeschool, meet a bloggy friend in Seattle (happy squeal!)
Thursday - homeschool, Maundy Thursday soup and bread potluck
*** soup-potluck tip: bring a muffin tin and sample several kinds! ***
Friday - homeschool (anyone not finished with the week's work), Tenebrae/Good Friday service
Saturday - breathe...
Sunday - sunrise service, Easter service, Easter brunch potluck, Easter at my parents with the whole family.
Probably followed by a long nap ;D

A peek into my world...  since I had church potlucks on my mind...