Daybook
/Outside My Window
An absolutely perfectly gorgeous autumn
Sunday: bright blue sky, just a few clouds, no humidity, and about 78 degrees.
Perfect soccer weather.
I am Listening to
The “soundtrack” that Mary Beth has
created for the ballet class she will teach her little sister…and 13 of their
friends.
I am Wearing
A cream-colored lightweight,
longsleeved t-shirt with a ruched
neckline, a purple boyfriend sweater (that I ended up tying around my waist
about noon) and not my daughter’s jeans (which I got for a steal on Amazon--there was a coupon added at checkout).
I am so Grateful
for
~ an unbelievably fun time in a
friend’s van while it poured rain our sons’ soccer practice. Eleven kids total in
the van. They all voted on a movie choice and we watched Pride and Prejudice.
It was even more darling to note that both my children and hers had many of
those lines memorized. Those homeschooled kids just don’t get socialized well, do
they?
~sweet, subtle changes for the better
in a child who had me worried. And for the friends who are influencing those
changes.
I'm Pondering
The soul which remains
attached to anything, even to the least thing, however many its virtues may be,
will never arrive at the liberty of the divine union. It matters little whether
a bird be fastened by a stout or slender cord -- as long as he does not break
it, slender as it may be, it will prevent him from flying freely. -- St. John
Chrysostom
I am Reading
Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman. Quite a book. Quite a
testimony. I’ve long been a huge Steven Curtis Chapman fan. I was hesitant to
read this book, because I knew that the story of how the Chapmans 5-year-old daughter Maria died would be gut-wrenching. I read that part first so that I
wouldn’t be dreading it throughout the first half of the book. Mary Beth writes
a compelling story of lifelong
surrender to the will of God.
I’m particularly grateful for her
honest accounting of the trials of depression.
.
I am Thinking
That God has heard me plea for kindred
spirits to befriend my children and me. And, despite the overwhelming busyness
of our fall schedule—actually because of it-- there are moments of grace-filled
friendship abundantly sprinkled throughout the week.
I am Creating
Lists. Before we leave town. I always
make lots of lists when I pack. We’re taking a three day trip. Seems like those
kinds of lists should be committed to memory by now, but that’s not the point.
The point is that the list lets me maintain the illusion of having control.
On
my iPod
A History
of US, Volume 3. Our listening on the way to Williamsburg this week for
homeschool days.
Towards a Real
Education
We’re taking a little diversion from
our Medieval Studies to skip across the pond and visit Colonial Williamsburg.
Towards
Rhythm and Beauty
The schedule works. It works
beautifully. There’s no time to kick back and do nothing and I can’t deviate
from the plan even a little bit, but the schedule does work…
To Live the Liturgy
We’ll celebrate the feast of Padre Pio
this week..
I
am Hoping and Praying
~for Mike, who is badly in need of a vacation. Or maybe
just a few hours off.
In the Garden
The roses rock. Really.
Around the House
The house is quite pulled together
now. We shall have to see whether
the new maintenance schedule keeps it that way. In other, much more interesting
news, it is definitely time to paint the walls. I chose our current colors on
the way home from the midwife’s office five and a half years ago, after
learning we’d suffered a
miscarriage. The painters had been scheduled and I didn’t want to cancel, so I
just went to Home Depot, totally numb and not at all there, and picked out
colors. I remember asking the guy to darken it three times before I left the
store.
It’s time for lighter and brighter
From the Kitchen
Gluten
free pumpkin muffins from this new cookbook. Jodi wrote and told me about it a
couple of weeks ago and I took a chance. The muffins are the first things we’ve
made using her gluten-free baking blend. They are so good. No weird bean taste;
no starchy falling apart consistency. Just pumpkinny yumminess. I’m looking forward to trying other
things.
One of My Favorite
Things
My icon wall.
Sarah
Annie this week
She loves
our new “after school” routine. It’s a playground for several hours every day
of the week. I’m really happy to have playground time, too.
A
Few Plans for the Rest of the Week
We have a
new friend visiting . She came to see Michael, but Karoline is pretty
sure she came to see her. We’ve loved having her. She’ll be here tomorrow when
Mary Beth transforms the main floor of our house into a dance studio and Mary Beth
and her friend Mary Kate introduce a whole bunch of homeschooled little girls
to the wonderful world of ballet.
Then
we’re going to get away for a few days. Mike has been working 18 hour days
getting ESPN’s Washington shows ready to launch in HD from their new studios at
ABC. We’re ducking out and leaving him to yet another week of that. We’ll go to
Homeschool Days in Colonial Williamsburg and stay at Great Wolf Lodge. We’ve
never been there, so we’re all eagerly anticipating our time.
And,
next weekend, we will return with Sarah Anne to the NICU
for a reunion. It just makes me smile so to think about taking my relatively
big smiling girl back to the people who cared for her so well in those early
days. I can’t wait!
Picture thoughts:
