Currently :: January 2021

I always seem to come back to these currently types of posts when I return to the blog after a long absence. Seems like a good way to dip my fingers back into typing and a catch-all of sorts of what's happening right now. And I just plain enjoy them!

Feeling: the chill in the air from outside the house. It was in the low 60s yesterday and it's raining and 36 outside right now. There is the sliiiiiightest chance that this might turn to snow, but I'm not holding my breath.

Listening: to the sounds of Ethan on his gaming headset behind me playing something with his Dad. The TV in the other room where one of the girls is chilling after school with National Treasure. I know we're not the only family whose screen time has ramped up in the months of just being home.

Watching: nothing. I've realized (over the the last 10 months of being home so much), that I really don't watch or like much TV. I have favorite movies that I will watch again and again, and that's about it. Every now and then the rare TV show will come along that I get sucked into. Lately it was the Mandalorian and I loved that it only gave us one episode a week, just like the "old days." We are eagerly waiting on season 3!

Reading: January has been a good reading month. I just finished The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and it was very good! It is a YA story about a girl who inherits a crazy amount of money and she has never heard of the person who left her the money. The book is a suspenseful and very interesting story on uncovering the riddle left for her and the members of the family cut out of the will. If you are a fan of Knives Out, you would definitely like this book, but with less language. (I'd rate it PG-13 for language and a little romantic interest, but I'd let my 15 year old read it).

Cooking: all the soups. Last fall I started (in my head, it's not like a club or anything!) Soup Sunday. Not every week, but on most Sunday nights I have been making a big pot of soup for dinner and then eating on it throughout the week. It's become one of my favorite things. Favorite soups that have made it into the rotation, some several times, are:

Egg Roll Soup from Gimme Some Oven

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili from Whatever blog

Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup from Skinny Taste's One and Done Cookbook

Whole 30 Zuppa Toscana

Lasagna Soup (no link)

Podcasting: this year, for my read-through-the-Bible plan, I decided to do the chronological plan that goes along with The Bible Recap Podcast. In general, I'm not a podcast person. It's hard for me to stay focused and listen without taking notes, which defeats the purpose of listening to them while you do other things. That said, the episodes are 5-10 minutes long and I listen to them in the morning right after I do the Bible reading for the day. I've really appreciated the short commentary, and what is pulled from the day's reading. Last year, I read through the New Testament, and then spent the end of the year reading through the gospels, so I have really enjoyed being back in the Old Testament!

Missing: life before masks. I'm not here for the mask argument. Having 3 girls in public school right now and also one foot still in the homeschool world with Ethan, I hear both sides of the argument LOUD AND CLEAR. But I'm ready to see people's faces sooner rather than later. Also missing normal outings like field trips, movies releasing in theaters, and church without social distancing.

Enough listing for one day. Happy Wednesday. :)

Currently :: April 2020

This has been on the list of things to do for a few weeks, but I've apparently hit that point in our sheltering in place that I've dusted off the blog!

Cooking: all the things. I know I'm not the only one who has funneled all their monthly money into groceries! I'm not spending it on gas or sports or (too many) books. I'm not complaining though - this time at home as rekindled my love of slowly chopping veggies, simmering sauces, and cooking dinner. I won't complain when our evening sports start up, but I have really enjoyed cooking real meals and not something that we eat hurriedly before heading out the door or warm up when we get home (or figure out how to pack it). Some favorites that we've enjoyed:

• Whole Kitchen Sink's beef and broccoli. If you don't have the coconut aminos and arrowroot flour to make it Whole 30 (sometimes I do and sometimes I don't), you can easily sub soy sauce and cornstarch. Delicious and came together super fast in the instant pot.
• Naptime Kitchen's Salsa Verde chicken. Yum and one that I made substitutions with as well - I didn't have salsa verde so just threw in regular salsa instead. I love recipes that I can tweak with what's in the cabinet. Of note: her greek-ish crockpot chicken is in regular rotation around here and it is so good. 
• Lazy Genius' from scratch tikki masala. SO GOOD. I usually use a jar of sauce to make this, but no more.
• homemade sausage gravy with biscuits (from a can). This was a huge crowd pleaser so I need to do this again.

Lest you think dinner is from scratch every night, I've also bought a ton of frozen pizzas from Sam's as well. I'm so thankful that some of the food buying frenzy has slowed down in the last week or so - at least I can tell it has in my local store. They still are limiting things like bread and eggs, but the last couple times I went in, I was able to get everything on my list (minus yeast which I can't find anywhere!) The first few weeks when I would go, I would get a horrible tightness in my chest and pit of my stomach just looking at all that was picked over and empty. The Lord has totally provided and we haven't missed a single meal, but seeing those empty cases and shelves made it seem very scary and real.

Empty meat cases at Sam's

Baking: not me, but the girls. Almost every day someone is asking me if they can make chocolate chip cookies, muffins, etc. It's a blessing ... and a curse! They, like me with dinner, have time to do it, and unfortunately, they are pretty good at it. I will leave you with the one thing that I have baked several times now and think about all the time: SkinnyTaste's everything-but-the-bagel bagel balls stuffed with cream cheese. So so good.

Going: no where for the most part. Perks of this - I'm on the same tank of gas going on three weeks now! Downside: the only time I get out is a hurried trip into Walmart or Sam's. I've just decided that those are the two places I'm going to go and I get in and get out. I made an exception yesterday with a trip to Target (my first in a couple months it seems like) to try and by some yeast for a request for homemade pizza dough but I totally struck out. We have made a couple trips into the pediatricians for wellness appointments and their office has done a great job getting us in and out the door. I would have put those off like everything else, but my school girls needed some forms for registration for the fall and I felt like we would be safe doing it. 

Reading: currently I have a couple books that are in the queue or in process: 

• Christine Hoover's With All Your Heart: Living Joyfully through Allegiance to King Jesus. This book hasn't been the easiest to read. It's pointing out some sin in my life that has been uncomfortable, but I'm thankful for the words that she's put out there for me to work through. 
• Ethan and I have read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH together, and just finished the 4th Paddington book, Paddington Abroad, last week. Reading aloud with him after lunch has been a gift (and a needed screen break for him) with so much home time. We're about to start the first book in the Wingfeather series by Andrew Peterson. I've never read these aloud with any of the kids, but since I've been wanting to reread them, Ethan will be a willing participant along with me.
• The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. Natalie (the 14 year old) has read this twice in the last few years and I'm jealous. One of my favorites and most significant books in my life and I am overdue for a re-read.

There are always others on the shelf waiting to be read as well! I've really cut back on the number of books that I've bought in the last couple of years, choosing to utilize the library for the most part, but I've treated myself to a few used books the last few weeks and hopefully I'll come back and share those finds after I've read them.

Studying: I've been in a CBS (Community Bible Study) study of the minor prophets this year but when school let out mid-March, it ended. I've worked a little on finishing the lessons, but the class has moved to zoom meetings for the last 4-6 class times. To be honest, I don't have time (even with being home so much!) to do zoom meetings during the day ... it's hard with a 9 year old that wants help with math and other kids coming in and out for help as well. I've chalked this up to one of the unfinished things of the season and have pulled a study on James off my shelf to work through. Since he starts right off with a word about steadfastness during trials and handling it with joy, it seems like it might be timely.

Schooling: Several have asked me how it's been going with my two school girls returning home. (In case it's new info, our 16 year old is a sophomore at a public high school and our 12 year old is in 6th grade in public school. The 8th grader and 3rd grader and I are still in Classical Conversations / homeschooling). The 6th grader has settled back into working at home really well - huge props to her school, they have done an outstanding job getting packets of work together for the students. She works a little each day, and even knowing that it's review material and it won't be graded on return; the fact that she has a little work to do each day helps her have something to do and she's keeping up with it. My 10th grader is a different story - her school has NOT provided a lot of guidance or instruction while she's been out, unfortunately, and has really only encouraged the kids to use this time to complete any outstanding assignments. She doesn't have any so as of now, she's in the midst of a six week spring break or so. Nice for her, but I'm curious how they will handle the rest of the year's work? That's the question on everyone's mind ... along with whether or not they will call school in our state for the rest of the year. As of now, our two are supposed to go back the last week in April, but I'm highly doubtful. 

The homeschoolers are plugging along as normal, for the most part. Natalie (8th grade) has a ton of zoom calls a week with her Challenge B class. At least half are for mock trial which she is still preparing for even though they will miss the experience of trying their case in a real courtroom with a real judge. That's been a disappointment after all their hard work for sure! Ethan has gotten to zoom with his little homeschool peeps and it's been precious. He has a great class and you can tell they miss being together. He and I have done the CC science experiments we would have done in class together, like building an egg protector and throwing it off the roof of the house, so that has given us some fun projects to do. 

This is gone on long enough for an update! It's a beautiful Saturday and I have a strawberry pie to bake for our small Easter lunch we'll have tomorrow. Thankful that even though I can't celebrate with others, I still have a Savior who is with me today and who I'll celebrate tomorrow. Hallelujah.

Currently, April 2019

Listening ... to the sound of a boy watching nerf gun you tube videos on a Friday night (he's living his best life right now) and an Avengers movie on my computer.

Waiting ... until it's time to go pick my oldest up from her job (!) and then I can get pjs on and head to bed.

Field-tripping ... with the boy to see a real tyrannosaurus rex. Not gonna lie - these Jurassic Park fans were very, very excited! Locals should check out The Earth Experience in Murfreesboro. It's small (and not too expensive), but was a great way to wrap up this year of school where we studied animals and plants, and their systems, and ended the year with a study of rocks and minerals. 

Counting ... the days left for our school year. (We're in the twenties now!) Our school girls finish up the Thursday before Memorial Day, and our goal is for the homeschooled crew to finish up right about then. We may have a boy with 1-2 math lessons to tack on, but thankful we aren't straggling into June this year.

Cheering ... all the baseball.

Baking ... my mom's strawberry pie. True signs of spring and Easter.

Planning ... a stay-cation sort of summer this year. We trekked to England last year, and the year before we took a two-week road trip to California. This year (for the most part), we are staying put. (See also: teenager with job). We've got a few days we're going to drive to visit recently moved grandparents in Kansas, and one overnight trip to Memphis to visit the zoo and Ikea. (Mom's pick). 😉 I also am now realizing, as the girls especially are getting older, the weeks fill up fast and fly by with VBS (helping, not attending now that they are too old), a middle school camp for one, and many days at the pool.

Cleaning (out) ... all my materials from directing our homeschool group for the last two years. Since we have put two of the girls in school (for very good and right reasons for both of them), our homeschool organization decided not to renew my contract for the next year. I get corporate policies but I loved directing and visiting with moms and tutors in that role, and was not ready to move on past it. It will be nice to get all the stuff packed up for its new home with an amazing mom who's stepping into the role after me.

Reading ... on the front porch. He reads to me (right now it's the Mercy Watson books) and I read to him (right now we're reading the first Hank the Cowdog book). It's been a good break from our Narnia streak that we've been on since January. We've two chapters left in Hank and he's informed me that we're headed back to Narnia after that. Fine by me!

Closing ... with a photo of Kitty, just because. She here in her current favorite spot where the morning bird watching is premium. She has it good around here.

Currently :: July 2015

vacationing with family in Ohio. We spent time with cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. and it was delightful.

visiting Cedar Point. The roller coaster capital of the world, apparently. Such a fun day riding rides and hanging out as a family. Some people rode the tallest roller coaster in the world and survived. I wasn't one of them though I did ride the second highest. Won major fun mom awards that day.

eating all the unhealthy stuff as you do on vacation. Fun, but also so nice to be back in the kitchen this week cooking and eating lots of salads and veggies.

enjoying fresh watermelon and peaches this week in abandon!

reading Simply Tuesday by Emily Freeman (a pre-release copy that I'm slowly savoring) and Anne of Green Gables. I don't know the last time that I have read Anne, but it has been a long time! Right now, I'm revisiting Green Gables and anticipating slowly reading through the series again this summer.

watching movies in the evenings with our crew. We love watching movies together and it's one of our favorite ways to wind down in the evening.

cheering kids on in summer sports as well. We have two girls playing indoor soccer this summer (so fun! and air conditioned!) and one boy playing t-ball (so fun! and not air conditioned!) Both of these activities have summertime practice schedules, which means they don't practice much at all, so a game here or there has been fun and not a hassle to fit into our schedule.

starting a little school this week for a small summer session. A couple of girls didn't quite get all their math finished this spring and we have a goal of knocking out those last 10-ish lessons before summer camp at the end of the month.

savoring a slower schedule the last few weeks and enjoying the down time after the last year which was hard and busy. I'm looking to continue this attitude / pace / environment for as long as I can!

A Present Participle List for April

realizing that I get why people call these present participle lists from some of our Classical Conversations memory work this year. "A present participle is a verb plus -ing...". Thank you Cycle 3 memory work.

checking books out of the library like it's my job. The oldest has a paper on Susan B. Anthony due next week and little girls did presidential presentations on Lincoln and Reagan so the house has been full up on historical biographies.

remembering that next week is National Library Week and I really want to do something for our librarians. They are so kind to us crazy homeschoolers and our huge pile of checkouts and holds each time we go in.

reading Theodore Roosevelt by Clara Ingram Judson for Amy's Newbery challenge. Sharing this book with B because when she spotted it, she immediately started reading the first chapter in the car on the way to her soccer game. We are also about half way through The Green Ember as our read-aloud. 

anticipating the end of our CC year in just two more weeks. It has flown by.

watching soccer and lots of it. I love the spring season (though I don't care for soggy games so much). 

trying to write a little every day. I've been doing the #listersgottallist challenge on Instagram and while the prompts aren't all terribly deep, it's a little bit every day.

realizing we have less than 40 days of school left. Just, wow.

cooking ... not much the last few days. A few in our family have been out of town and those left behind have made do with leftovers and takeout. 

eating too much sugar! Moving Easter candy and sweets out of my line of sight!

looking back on this 2014-2015 school year and realizing that it's not been our finest. This past year (with the fostering) has been a huge fog and I am just now coming out of it a little lot on the bruised and battered side. Thinking through what is to come this next year (most especially, the last year I'll do the bulk of the planning for N1's school work before she enters the CC Challenge program) and grieving that a bit. Not the entering Challenge part - it's an exceptional program that I know will be really, REALLY good for her. This year was just so .... hard and disappointing. 

planning a little person turning eight very, very soon. Yet another Very Hard Thing. : ) We have acquiesced to a friend event this year and she is having a hard time making up her mind as to what she wants to do within the parameters we have given her.

sharing this photo.

He is just such a cool kid.

Currently :: January 2015

Reading: currently reading aloud The Story Girl and Heidi. I just finished reading Home is Where My People Are by Sophie Hudson (more soon on this, I hope).

Watching: Toy Story 3 with the boy upstairs while the girls are having music lessons downstairs. It's the one time during our school week where he gets to watch a video and he (and I) look forward to it immensely.

Trying: to make time for 30 minutes daily on the treadmill. I haven't been successful this week so far.



Cooking: crockpot chicken and dumplins for dinner tonight. Yum.

Eating: Pioneer Women chocolate pudding. So good. N1 did her CC presentation on the history of pudding and as part of her "research" she made a batch of pudding from scratch. One of my favorite topics that she's picked - ha.

Drinking: all the coffee.

Calling: no one - yay. Texting and email are my friends.



Crafting: working on finishing up my 2014 Project Life album. Last weekend was productive and I got two months knocked out. Hoping for another good stretch this weekend. It's not hard to get done - I've got the pictures in there, it's just rustling up time to work undisturbed. That is in short supply.

Doing: lots of afterschool pick up runs. One of our fosters is in tutoring afterschool everyday so that is a run to get her at that point in the day where I am ready for comfy clothes and not leaving the house. We have been spoiled by homeschooling and not having to schedule our days around bus pickup and dropoff.

Going: this week has been slow(er). CC one day. Bible study another. A quick run to Walmart this morning for guinea pig bedding so that a cage can be cleaned. Plus the aforementioned retrieving of children from school.

Loving: going to bed as early as possible as I can lately. Several nights I've crawled in bed as soon as I've gotten children tucked in. Days are long and full right now and by the kids are done in the evening, so am I.

Hating: when I forget about the holiday schedules! I knew that Monday was MLK Day because our fosters were out of school. However, that didn't include factoring in that the fun library trip I had planned wouldn't work out because the library was closed. Or an afternoon trip to the park that didn't work out as planned - it was 65* on Monday (yay!) but with school being out, EVERYONE was at the park when we headed over. Oops.

Discovering: the Great Artist / Composer series of books. A little late to the game on these, but they have been a great addition to our artist studies for CC this cycle.

Hoping: and praying for a friend who is quite ill.

Celebrating: someone turning nine in just a few more days!



Thanking: a friend for a surprise gift last week. A sweet mama friend gave me a beautiful scarf for a belated birthday present. I would never have thought of myself as a scarf person, but it matches my favorite sweater perfectly and makes me feel a bit more dressed up when I leave the house. (Also, PS. I do not take good selfies.)

Considering: how much better our days have been going since we started back up on January. We have made a few tweaks to the day - nnotably, starting earlier (not the kids' favorite) and our spiral notebooks (my favorite). We are tackling our days head-on and there is no excuse to not getting our work done because I actually am taking the time to right down each day's work. Yay us.

Starting: to think about 2015-2016 plans for school. It happens every January.

Currently :: October 2014

Eating ... pimento cheese and crackers. One of my favorite comfort foods of all time (and something that I don't let into the house very often at all ... no willpower!)

Drinking ... at this moment, an evening cup of coffee with a little sugar free pumpkin cream in it. Tasty.



Dealing with ... yes, that picture is what you think it is. Super annoying and so. much. laundry. but at the same time I'm thankful we don't have chicken pox or the flu or something!



Studying ... 2 Peter (with She Reads Truth) and Romans (with Community Bible Study). I'm not always up to speed on either of them, but just get what I can done in my early morning alone time. I'm loving Romans (but it's very thinkerly for early in the morning), and 2 Peter has been so good as well.

Reading ... maybe a separate blog posts for books? I'll come back to this question.



Reading Aloud ... unusually for us, we have several read-alouds going right now. We're reading Little House in the Big Woods. A re-read for us; N2 and B are working through a lapbook on this story and, naturally, I don't need a excuse to read Laura and Mary. : ) We're also reading James and the Giant Peach in anticipation of seeing the play at the local children's theater next month. The boy and I are reading A Mouse Called Wolf together as well.



Making ... butter! To go along with our Little House reading, the girls and I made real butter out of whipping cream on Sunday night! It took about 20 minutes of mama shaking a jar (the girls pooped out on their jar well before then) but we got butter!



Celebrating ... a new library card owner in the house. The boy thought he was BIG STUFF getting his own card at the library this week.

Plotting ... the next eight weeks of school. With paper and pencil, I counted out and we only have EIGHT weeks until our Christmas break. That's crazy! The last eight weeks have not been our smoothest in the homeschool department by a long shot so I've got some plans to redeem the rest of 2014 and get us back on track. Thankfully, we're not behind; our days have just been so fractured and fragmented that some days we spend more time fussing instead of focusing. (Alliteration! I've been paying attention in N1's Essentials class at least.) : ) I've been thoroughly enjoying this 31 days series by Alicia over at Investing Love on simplifying homeschooling. Many of her suggestions I already implement, but a fresh voice can be nice and encouraging and her series has been that for me.

Sharing ... that our period of fostering a 14 year old girl has ended. Again, too many details to share online, but those of you that have sent notes and encouragement via emails and comments have been so appreciated. The last eight weeks have been some of the hardest weeks of my life, and I'm leaving them so thankful that God has foreknowledge of the events in our lives before we do. I'm resting in that.



Quoting ... this girl. Upon showing her a new book, she asks: "Is that book full of adventure? I don't like books that aren't adventure-y." She rocks.

Currently :: July 2014

Eating ... free Chick-Fil-A. (Photo from Friday). It was dress like a cow day and we braved the crowds with five kids for free chicken. FYI, no children we harmed in the taking of this photo - not sure what is up with some of those faces, but they really were all happy!

Drinking ... less coffee and more water. Still love, love, love my coffee, but trying to set an example for girls that don't care for water.



Studying ... The Sermon on the Mount with #shereadstruth. It has been so good this summer and I have been blessed by the #shereadstruth gals and the work they are putting out.



Reading ... good stuff this month:

Unbroken :: This was my vacation book this summer and it was unbelievable. Amy has recommended to me time and time again and I finally bought a used copy on Amazon and devoured it. Such a powerful story of a man's courage and character (with an ending that somehow I had never heard about and did not see coming!) in the face of incredible circumstances. It will go down as one of the best books I have ever read, period. I've already ordered a used copy of Laura Hillenbrand's book, Seabiscuit, and while I can't imagine that a story about a horse will be quite as powerful as Unbroken, I'm eager to read another book by her.

The One Hundred and One Dalmatians :: This month's choice for the Reading to Know bookclub. I read this one in a few days (I needed something completely different after Unbroken and this was a perfect fit). A sweet story just like the Disney movie.

I'm now dabbling in a couple different books, but not making any real progress.

Reading Aloud ... The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander with the girls.



Driving ... lots lately! Way more than normal. To swim lessons, to VBS, to Ohio (Lake Erie) and back.



Dropping ... big girls off at camp this week. The house is much quieter this Monday.



Plotting ... our school calendar for the year. I had it all planned out prettily to start us off on a six week on / one week off plan ... and then we have had some family stuff change everything. Back to the drawing board because we are...

Adding ... a new member to our family! We are in the process of filling our foster / adoption paperwork and will, Lord willing, be adding another to our number by September. So much to tell ... so much we can't share. I know folks understand, but we are excited!



Dying ... over the cuteness and fun that this boy is in his current Captain Batman stage. I will be super sad when he grows out of it.

Currently :: June

Loving :: a Friday at home. We have had a busy week with Tuesday-Thursday spent at our local Classical Conversations Practicum. Encouraging, inspiring, educational and all that jazz. Lots of good conversations with like-minded mama friends ... some I know well and some I want to know more now!

Thinking :: of what needs to be done next. The practicum is wonderful, and it seems like such a little thing to be gone for three days, but it adds up. Laundry must caught up. The things that we came in and dropped each evening need to find homes and rooms need tidying. A grocery list needs to be made for the weekend.

Eating :: salads, berries with Greek yogurt, asparagus. Trying to make the most of summer produce. I won't lie - I would absolutely love a Big Mac right now. : ) 

Enjoying :: That school is done! Grades are turned in and I've packed up (most of) our 2013-2014 materials. Learning will still take place this summer and we're going to move into that routine next week. Multiplication fact drilling for two girls; addition and subtraction fact drilling for one; copywork (the book of Romans) for all. And LOTS of reading. 

Making :: phone calls. A potentially big project is on the horizon and it's starting with phone calls. 

Plotting :: a birthday/Father's Day lunch for Sunday. Taking my inspiration from this episode of the Pioneer Woman's show (recently watched on a rare moment on the treadmill). 

Struggling :: with the to-do list v. the time to get it done list. 

Savoring :: summer evenings outside. The last few days the bulk of our outside playtime has been after dinner. The sun is going down and friends are home for the evening and there has been many a wild and crazy gang of kickball out in the culdesac. We have a great group of kids in our neighborhood, and they have a lot of fun playing together. We are thankful.

Celebrating :: Travis' birthday this week. Dinner with our small group friends on Tuesday night, hanging out as a family on Thursday (the actual birthday), and a family birthday lunch on Sunday. He's worth celebrating multiple days. : ) 

Reading :: the list is growing long, but actually checking them off has been tricky! (Typical summer overambitious reading plans...) Of late, I've finished:

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, Jonathan Auxier 

- I can't decide if I liked this one or not. I wanted to finish it to see how it ended, but whether I'll pass it on to the girls or put it in the pile to get rid of is undecided.
iPhone Only Photography, David Molnar

- this was a book I was sent to review and it is packed full of little tricks and tips on how to use your iPhone to its full potential as a camera and tool. I was impressed! One of these days when I don't have so many things to haul with me I'll shoot more with my big camera. In the meantime, I really am so thankful for the fantastic camera that my phone has that has allowed me to capture my children and our memories. 

The Water Castle, Megan Frazer Blakemore 
- loved this one! This is by the same author that wrote The Spycatchers of Maple Hill (review) and it was just as good. 

In process or to be started:
The Question, by Leigh Bortins
- would like to participate in Amy's read along of this one this summer, but it's the first week and I'm already behind! I've started it at least!
King Solomon's Mines, by Henry Rider Haggard
- for the Reading to Know bookclub
Many, many other books in my pile!

Photographing :: pool pics. Love watching them have fun and wear themselves out.

Currently :: May

Loving :: end of our yearly commitments. CC is done. CBS finished last week. Awana has one more week. Bring on the empty calendar squares.

Thinking :: of plans for next year (naturally). It's all been typed up in a chart and submitted to the "principal" for approval and budgetary consideration and then we should be good to go.

Eating :: lots of salad. There were a few too many mini Snickers in the kids' Easter candy this year.

Enjoying :: flip flops and short sleeve shirts! Seventy degree days are my favorite.

Making :: decluttering piles. Cleaning out the school room, bedrooms for a little bit more room to breathe around here for the summer.

Plotting :: a summer bucket list for us.

Struggling :: with finding time to walk or run. It's not just for my legs and body, but for my mind as well - to get out and think quiet thoughts without constant interruptions. Hoping to make this happen more this spring and summer.

Feeling :: semi-overwhelmed. I can't decide if it's just the nature of life right now, or my to-do list, but there is a lot going on. I have a few hours with a sitter during the day Friday and I am so looking forward to that. Am contemplating making that a regular part of my summer routine, maybe every other week.

Savoring :: this sweet girl. We celebrated seven on Monday. Honestly ... struggling with this birthday. My last baby girl who still is so very young in action and deed, heart and spirit.



Finding :: a few minutes for a frozen drink with this girl. We snuck out Saturday afternoon to shop for B's birthday. It had been a while since she and I had had a mama/N2 date!



Celebrating :: our spring bonanza of birthdays in my family this weekend. We have both my parents with birthdays, B, my brother-in-law, and Mother's Day all about to celebrated in one fell swoop on Sunday. B was in charge of picking dessert and decided that Grandma's strawberry pie was just the ticket. There will be pie making this weekend. Yum.

Reading :: Matthew with my friend Candace at His Mercy is New and posting a daily snippet on Instagram. (Maybe I should compile them all here so that I have a bloggy record?)





Wishing :: you all a happy Thursday. : )

Scenes from Saturday

Softball clinic for the oldest.

Graphic design work for church. I’m rusty.

Fun mail.

Reading truck books.

Grilled cheese for kids.

Boy toys.

So much laundry to fold.

Cozy.