Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, Monday, October 6, 2014.

Outside my window...  an absolutely GLORIOUS fall day.  I can't believe it's so warm.  We've had no need to turn the furnace on yet, and for that I'm grateful!

Hearing...  a quiet house.  Gunnar and Tate are both doing their school work.

Pondering...  Tate rode his bike again today - probably gets to school quicker than he would on the bus.  Soon, though, it will be too dark in the morning to ride.  Well, he could see, but I'm afraid that drivers won't see him.

Praying...  for work for Kerry (at a meeting with a client now :D), for Wyatt to stay on top of his reading for the college and for his job application, for Tate to continue to do well at home and at the HS, and for Gunnar to continue well at home and to manage his moods/emotions.

Thankful...  by the grace of God, the boys are all doing WELL.  Not perfect, but WELL.  The problems we have are things we can deal with.

Wearing...  lightweight jeans and a t-shirt.  I could put on a pair of shorts, it's so nice out, but I'll be at rehearsal tonight and the temp will be dropping.

Creating...  working ahead to make lesson plans / activities for my little Sunday school class.

Going...  to have a fun day with my mom tomorrow, while all the boys are busy.  Kerry and the two younger boys are leaving at oh-dark-thirty to tour the Bangor Naval Submarine Base (think Hunt for Red October) with their Civil Air Patrol group.  Wyatt (sadly, but maturely) decided he probably shouldn't miss school and opted out.  But he and a handful of others who couldn't take the whole day off are getting together for pizza and something (video game? movie?) so he'll get to do something special.  So... my mom and I will go out to lunch and have a fun day :D

Reading...  just picked up Defending the Faith: Apologetics in Women's Ministry  by Mary Jo Sharp, but I've barely cracked it open, so no comments yet.

Looking forward to...  next week!  Twentieth Anniversary Getaway!  Three cheers for Grandma Grasshopper, who's coming to stay with the boys.  Yes, they're old enough to leave alone, but I'd like them to eat something besides Top Ramen and frozen pizza while we're away.  And I'll relax better, knowing she's keeping an eye on their comings and goings.

In the kitchen...  leftovers for everyone, while I'm at rehearsal.  Creamy chicken/turkey and rice, carrots from the garden, and butternut squash soup, also from the garden :D

In the learning rooms...  Tate diligently plugs away at his Biology, World History, and Logical Fallacies, as well as keeping up with his HS homework.  Gunnar and I just finished the review for chapter three of Apologia's General Science and he's doing some language work before lunch.

Around the house...  more tomatoes ripening in the windowsill, and a heavenly smell.  Can you guess?  It's that time of year again.  The season of pumpkin spice candles - mmm mmmm!

The Mother Load...  I have a bunch of birthday presents to wrap.  We're about to celebrate five birthdays, combining October's and November's.  That includes my sister, brother, SIL, Tate, and my mom.  Whew!

Then it's time to start preparing for Christmas gifts.  I collect gifts all year round if I see something wonderful.  And guess what.  That usually ends up being for the women of the family.  They're so much easier to buy for!  But all the men?  That requires more thinking and planning.

And I'm trying to get ahead with my Sunday school class, knowing I'll be busy next week, and we have a women's retreat coming up as well.

Noticing that...  the one thing I don't like about this time of year?  The bees.  Or, more accurately, wasps/yellowjackets/hornets, etc.  THEY'RE SO MEAN THIS TIME OF YEAR!  So watch out.

 Something to remember for later...  these beautiful, bright fall days.  *happy sigh*

A favorite quote for today...  from Keats' To Autumn

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

A few plans for the rest of the week...  rehearsal tonight, the big CAP event tomorrow for the boys and girl-time for me with my mom, a doctor's appointment for me, the boys going to my sister's for a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon this weekend, and... seems like there's something I'm forgetting, though that's enough!

A peek into my world...  or my dogwood tree ;D