daybook {new year!} 1/7/2015

 

For today… Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Outside my window... Cold. Wind. Snow.

Hearing... Wind. 

Pondering... too much to pinpoint and list.

Praying...

Denise is having an even stronger (deadlier?) round of treatments this week as last week’s scans showed cancer has spread to her lymph nodes.

Families with flu or less serious sickness – some with deaths to grieve. 

Please, dear people, do NOT get a flu shot.

Kate & Abby are back in school.  Daniel flies out later this week.  Lots of opportunities and plans for each of them this new year.

Kayleb & Kara enjoying newlywed bliss hopefully somewhere warm and cozy.

Faithfulness in the little things.  Awareness of what is eternal, and what is not.

 

Tim’s challenge to us for 2015:  to be faithful in small things.

His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ~ from Matthew 25

 

Thankful... for safety and open roads in all our recent travels…. for Tim’s mom – her life of faithfulness … for the effort by one of her grandsons to create and present {with help} the perfect eulogy in a readers theater format.  Sweet times and memories with family.

Creating... order from this particular mess today (?)

Going... to stay inside and at home again today, thank you very much.

Reading... finishing Deuteronomy (today perhaps), catching up with blogs, hoping to begin/continue with other good books begging my attention…

     

   

 

Looking forward to... de-cluttering, routines, a new cook book

In the kitchen...

Leftovers: beef roast, mashed potatoes, Madison Co chicken, pizza – and a multitude of Christmas goodies.

Menus planned: turkey/veg soup, pan-seared tilapia {Tim’s recipe, so I hope he’s willing to cook}, pizza {again?}, pancakes, taco rice casserole…

And plenty of vitamin-loaded spinach smoothies.  nom nom.

In the learning rooms... there remains a pile of papers for me to check/grade.  And history reading to finish - from December.   Still looking for the right groove to get back into.  Blah.

Around the house... new books and games.  Nerf bullets and forts.  Christmas décor minus the tree.  And a large colony of dust bunnies.

The Mother Load... Monday I shopped groceries.  Yesterday I baked and vac-ed.  Today I shall conquer the desk.  And maybe some more laundry too.

Noticing that... I love being at home.

Something fun to share... a good idea gone crazy.

Nine kiddos under the age of 7 in my extended local family.  Four girls.  Five boys. 

I blame facebook and pinterest.  And my idealistic self.

But he sure looks cute and happy, huh?

 

A favorite quote for today...

 

One of my favorite things... dark ---------

With a nod and many thanks to Kara for the Joe Joe’s – they were delicious!

{I spent waaay too much time last month – along with the Cowgirl – checking out and signing up for a Favorite Things Stocking Giveaway  at 13 fun blogs – And we won one!}

 

A few plans for the rest of the week... airport, piano lessons/more groceries and shoe shopping, finding our way back to school routine

A peek into my world {December}...

puzzles, sleeping by the tree, big breakfast {with hand warmers for all}, table games, recording studio… and more.

      

~.~.~.~.~

Giving credit where credit is due:

While I am not linking up with anyone, you could read more weekly news posts at other blogs by following any of these links:

• Peggy at the Simple Woman’s Daybook

• Julie for adapting this daybook version as her own ‘Grasshopper Days’ ~ Perhaps I could call it the GHV Daybook. :)

• You can also find a similar weekly meme in Happy Homemaker Monday at Sandra’s

~.~.~.~.~

Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord,

that thou fulfil it. Colossians 4:17

Precious in the sight of the Lord…

 

 

 

Jesus lives, and so shall I:

Death, thy sting is gone forever!

He for me hath deigned to die,

Lives the bands of death to sever.

He shall raise me from the dust:

Jesus is my hope and trust.

daybook 12/10/2014

 

My apologies to both of my readers.  And to the Cowgirl, who depends on my blogging to help us remember what to include in the annual photo book.  Life happens, you know.  And I’m obviously struggling to keep a written track record of it here.

But here it is.  A blog post.  Ta da!

For today… Wednesday, December 10,2014

Outside my window... it’s a cloudy, chilly day.  No snow to be seen, which is sad, don’t you think?

Hearing... the Popper was working on memory verses

…Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed…

Pondering... 14 days until Christmas!

Praying...

Denise & family

Jessica & Jill both had surgeries this morning, which went well they say.  Praying for speedy recoveries {and no need for additional treatment for Jill!}

for wisdom for our adult kiddos – always decisions to make, but a they each have big ones affecting the next several months.

Daniel will be traveling home Friday {and into the overnight}.  Kate & Abby will be driving themselves home next Tuesday –yikes!  {first solo long distance drive}  Weather, alert drivers & traffic are on my mind!

Thankful... for little things like leftovers for supper and bargains on a swap page.  And for big things like the incarnation of Christ that led to his crucifixion and resurrection! {and thus, the gift of salvation to any and all who trust in him. Like me.}  God IS good.

Creating... way too many orders at kohls dot com [ahem] and a few craftier gifts as well, which of course I’m not going to show you yet!  The sewing projects hit a wall on the first day, so I will have to muster a fair amount of courage to continue those.  But I will because I think I must finish the job, finish the job, get it done.  This week. Which you might notice is already half gone?

Going... to make my first ever batch of Julekake tomorrow.  By customer request only.  And I still may divide the dough in half to make some with real dried fruit instead of the colored {nasty} ‘candied’ stuff that surely gives Scandinavians a bad name in the world of gourmet cooking. {ha}

Reading... Carson :-) Basic History of the US Vol 3 – much to my kiddos’ delight [eyes roll] – but really they would rather listen to me than read it themselves. 

I just recently read to them Away Goes Sally by Elizabeth Coatsworth, so they are not  suffering too badly here.  And Carson writes good stuff – really.

I need to update my side bar list  - my poor blog is so neglected.  I finished Numbers and began with Deuteronomy this week – yay!

I also finished with Off Script by Cary Schmidt – and loaned it out to a friend so I can’t go back to find bits to share just yet.  And Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret.

 

Looking forward to... our college kiddos coming home for Christmas!!! 

What sort of red carpet greeting can we come up with here??

In the kitchen... This month’s menu items so far: pancakes {Tim & I were out for steak dinner}, tacos, turkey packets, taco soup, cheddar baked chicken, pizza, maid-rites, turkey/veg stew – lotsa leftovers.  Tonight I should be making {now} another pot of soup – cream of broccoli/potato-cheese combo. 

In the learning rooms... Sectionalism leading up to the US Civil War; the Popper had a personal finance unit in her math class while the Cowgirl was studying lessons in buying electronics and cars etc in her stewardship course.  The Cattleman is continuing his advance work in second semester assignments altho what I really want him to do is finish with physical science so he can begin the biology book *I* had planned for this school year. {sigh}

Around the house... the tree is lit but not decorated; Thanksgiving flowers are looking a bit wilted; Tim bought a piece of tile to consider using in window trim – it looks like wood, very cool {literally}.

The Mother Load...  First let me share some of what I’ve checked OFF the list!  Passport photos and applications, Romania campaign applications, ironing {woot}, auto insurance updated, recipe book for upcoming bride, photo book of our August trip, Christmas cookies {3 kinds in freezer so far}, some of my ‘crafty’ gifts are ready, and many packages arriving from kohls and amazon mean I’ve been Christmas shopping…

Still TO DO: Christmas card/letter, 2014 annual photo book, sewing project gifts, Christmas candies {so the girls can come home and dip them in chocolate}, and of course there’s still STUFF to donate to a thrift shop, laundry and more ironing.  I’m sure there’s more.  Like cranking the Cowgirl’s expander every other night.

Noticing that... Every One has a pair of fashion boots this year.  {yes, that’s a broad generalization… But really, have you noticed?  It is The Year of the Boot.} 

So I just may have ordered a pair for myself!

Something fun to share...  {since my MIL doesn’t read my blog} 

Sorry about the poor lighting.  And lack of focus.  It was late, so this is how I saw it – ha ha.

{with shout out to SarahE for the ‘chalk art’ print}

One of my favorite things... chocolate.  sleep.  eggnog.  These are few of my favorite things!

A few plans for the rest of the week... Bake and deliver Julekake, piano lessons/groceries, Friday’s baking for Sandy Creek Bakery, chess club for the Cattleman, Sunday school program practice {to which the Cowgirl will drive them!}  I agreed to deliver Meals on Wheels next Monday – one day should be doable and a good thing.

And finishing the Mother Load or most of it – before Daniel comes home! ha hahahahahaha {It DOES say “PLANS” you know.  It doesn’t say anything about Reality Check.}

A peek into my world... the girls had a fun afternoon with friends this past Saturday.  Note the snow fort and snowball fight in the Cowgirl’s front yard.

   

 

~.~.~.~.~

Giving credit where credit is due:

While I am not linking up with anyone, you could read more weekly news posts at other blogs by following any of these links:

• Peggy at the Simple Woman’s Daybook

• Julie for adapting this daybook version as her own ‘Grasshopper Days’ ~ Perhaps I could call it the GHV Daybook. :)

• You can also find a similar weekly meme in Happy Homemaker Monday at Sandra’s

~.~.~.~.~

Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord,

that thou fulfil it. Colossians 4:17