Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, Monday, December 7, 2015

Outside my window...

the wild weekend winds have died down,

and we're back to cloudy and rainy.

The photo above?

Wishful thinking.

Hearing...

Christmas music.

Love that Pandora :D

Praying...

to see Tate looking like this again -

healthy and happy,

(and apparently not wearing his seatbelt properly - grrr!)

On our way to get a Christmas tree

for Wyatt, preparing for final exams,

for Gunnar and me - colds,

heading for the tree farm.

and work for Kerry,

and especially for wisdom with my family!

Pondering...

juggling responsibilities,

prioritizing.

I know Tate will be stressed about missing school,

and that is the LEAST of my concerns right now.

I just want him to be healthy.

We see the doc this afternoon.

We really like this tree farm.
Don't judge by this year's trees.

Thankful...

for HOME.

Wearing...

blue jeans, Christmas lights turtle-neck, red sweater :D

Creating...

a little bit of organization in my office/craft room.

It's kind of an explosion of Christmas gifts and wrapping materials.

The trees were hit hard by the hot, dry summer.
Healthy new growth on the ends, but lots of dead needles :o(

Looking forward to...

kicking this cough.  Ugh.

Tate makes the first cut

In the kitchen...

thawing hamburger to make something FABULOUS for dinner (what?),

and the boys have requested mac and cheese for lunch.

Good "comfort food" for Tate.

Gunnar finishes the sawing

In the learning rooms...

our studies are somewhat disrupted.

We'll get there.

We found a good one!

Around the house...

our tree is up and decorated :D

We were pretty discouraged when we started looking around the tree farm,

but I remembered there was a low spot near the road

that's always really soggy and muddy in December.

I thought the ground there might have stayed damper in the dry summer months.

We did find a greener, more healthy tree :D

It's not perfect, but we're happy with it.

Gunnar, laughing because we were teasing Kerry about something.

The Mother Load...

oh so hard for me to let go of,

but I need to slow down and rest -

keep an eye on Tate,

and get everyone over colds.

All right, so I WAS doing something silly.

Noticing that...

how fast things can change.

From healthy to sick,

and back again.

Kerry, not exactly pleased about how far the tree I chose is from the parking lot.

Something to remember for later...

Tate's tender heart.

We spent about six hours in the ER.

The beds there are not fabulously comfortable,

but at least he HAD a bed.

I had a hard plastic chair.

And as sick as he was,

he felt badly for ME.

Something fun to share...

did you notice Gunnar's new glasses?

I don't know if that really qualifies as "fun",

but he's glad to have them!

The tree farm always has cookies and hot cider to share :D

A favorite quote for today...

Never wrestle with a pig.

You both get dirty,

and the pig likes it.

One of my favorite things...

a comfy chair with a good book and a hot drink.

Tate LOVES the shortbread cookies.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

that will depend on how everyone is feeling.

Not much on the calendar,

but I'm looking forward to getting together with my dad's side of the family on Sunday,

for our "Christmas" with them.

We don't do any gifts (no pressure!) -

we just get together :D

A peek into my world...

near the tree farm we pass this little church.

(Isn't that a fabulous photo I took out the window?)

Not many churches have graveyards any more.

And what's the little brown chapel in the back?