Bunch of Questions Meme

Since  Tracy and Jamie Jo played along with this meme (or Bunch of Questions), I thought I'd join the fun.

Here are The Rules:

1. Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.
2. They must also answer the 11 questions the “tagger” has set for them.
3. They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.
4. They must then choose 11 bloggers and tag them in their post.
5. These “lucky” bloggers must then be told.
6. No tag backs

Eleven things about myself:
1.  I observed a milestone birthday last month.  The first digit is a 5, and the last rhymes with GO!  :-)  Craig was in Afghanistan, so that's why I observed it, and didn't celebrate it. I was really melancholy that day, but once the day passed, I don't feel any differently. 
2.  I have three grown, married children, and three younger kids at home yet. (My second crop, I tease.)
3.  I have 5 grandchildren, with number six due almost any day.  I love being a Grandma, but it gets tricky sometimes because Crash is only 14 months older than his oldest niece.
4.  I am currently enjoying the blissfully quiet house.  Dad and the 3 kids are deer hunting 'out back'.  The boys didn't make it home for deer hunting this year.
5.  We own 70 acres.  We need to reconfigure a few things, then we'll get more calves to raise for beef.  All is vacant in the livestock area.
6.  We currently have 31 hens and 1 rooster living in the chicken coop, and roaming the yard.  I also have an unintentional stockpile of eggs in the fridge.  Fresh eggs, any one?
7.  We used to live in Alamogordo, NM when Craig was stationed at Holloman AFB.  Loved it there.  We hope to go back to visit Alamogordo and surrounding area.  Last time we were there was October 1991... and that's way too long.
8.  We also lived in Wilmington, Ohio for 6+ years before moving back to Northern MN.  Like to go back there too....  I've been back several times since we moved. Last visit was in '02...   wow. Didn't realize that's been 10 years already.  Hmm, time to go back for a visit.  
9.  We have no home school group around us.  Kinda miss the camaraderie, and I know the kids would love to have other home schoolers to visit and befriend.  MN Catholic Home Education Conference is my one time each year to talk with, and glean ideas from, other home schooling moms.  I wish it'd last an entire week....  J/K (kinda).
10.  I've been making plans for Christmas already.  I was awake at 5am this morning, trying to figure out where everyone will sleep, as all the kids and grandkids will be home!  It'll be crazy-busy, but great.  We always enjoy the big family gatherings. 
11.  Craig and I were HS sweethearts, got married when I was 19 and he was 21, and we've been married for over 30 years.  Would I do anything differently, could I do it all over?  Nope, not a thing.  Love that man that God has blessed me with, and I thank Him.




Eleven Questions Tracy Made Up:

1. If you could go anywhere for one month, where would you go and why?  I'd love to go back to Hawaii, if cost was not a factor, and bring the kids with us this time.  Why? Have you ever hiked a mountain to see the sunrise over the ocean?  Felt so close to God I think I could've touched Him.  The atmosphere in Hawaii is just so relaxed and different, so soothing.  People actually slow down on the freeway to let traffic in!!!  It was amazing.
2. If you could move to another country, where would you move and why?  I'm not sure...  don't think I want to 'move' to another country.  I'd love to visit Italy, and Croatia, Slovenia, Poland... lands of my ancestors, but wouldn't want to move anywhere else.
3. If you could develop a talent for something, what would it be?  Maybe photography.  And listening.  I need to become a better listener.
4. What are three things you really want, but don't really need? hmm. Tough questions! Concerning our remodel, I want granite countertops, but will 'settle' for butcher block...     I want a separate school room, but will continue to school in the kitchen...   and I want all 231 items on my Amazon wish list!
5. What are your own, personal, smartphone rules? (stoplights, check-out lanes, during meals, in the presence of others, in the bed/bathroom)  Smartphone?!  Nope, just an old fashioned digital phone.  And we're mighty lucky to have service at the house!
6. City or country?  I love visiting the city, but country!!
7. Major or minor music?  Major
8. Cats or dogs?  Both
9. Red wine or white?  neither
10. What century and country would you have liked to live in?  I think the Wild West Era would have been amazing.
11. Are you still friends with your college roommates and bridesmaids?  College roommates, no.  We sent Christmas cards until just a few years ago...  My maid of honor was my sister, so yes to her but no, none of the other bridesmaids.

 

My Eleven Questions for you:
1.  What is your favorite, most vivid childhood memory?
2.  Whom do you admire most? Why?
3.  What is your ideal way to spend the day?  (Without concern about cost, chores, or other obligations.)
4.  What is your dream for your children?
5.  What is one dream your have for your spouse?
6.  What is your favorite pastime/hobby?
7.  If you could live a lifestyle other than the one you currently live, what would it be?
8.  Your favorite fictional character is?
9.  What is your one vice you'd love to be rid of?
10.  How would you like most to spend your Golden Years?
11.  What season or holiday do you enjoy most, and why?



Eleven Tagged Bloggers: Well, I am pretty sure I don't have eleven bloggers read my blog, so if you want to play along, consider yourself tagged!!  Or if you'd rather,  just answer in the com box.

Heroes::Ten Years Later

I've been thinking a lot since this weekend about various things concerning 9-11....  the images and tears have been renewed and a wound has been reopened.

The police departments, fire departments, port authority....  putting others before themselves.   Heroes?  Certainly.  But one thing that always nags at me is they were doing their job.  They had trained long and hard to deal with every imaginable event to help and protect civilians.  Not to diminish their accomplishments at all, oh no!  I think they did a phenomenal job.  And so very many gave their lives.

But the passengers of Flight 93 are, to me, by far much greater heroes.  "This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:12-13   Friends and loved ones yes.... but mostly total strangers. 

And now this....... is amazing.

How is it that it took ten years for us to learn of the bravery of ordinary-men-turned-heroes? 

 Did you catch that?   One radio call ...   that's all it took.   Real live heroes, people! They responded by the hundreds.  For hours.  May God bless them.


Once again, my faith in mankind has been restored. How about you?

Remembering 9-11

As with most Americans, we remember exactly where we were on that beautiful blue skied day ten years ago, and how unprepared we were for understanding the horrific events that were unfolding.

Do you remember how wonderful it looked when that natural surge of patriotism decorated so many streets in our communities?

We were united by the pain we felt, and turned the pain and hurt into something good.

 Something positive.

 All across our nation, we saw the flags.  Americans were supporting one another. 

We were praying for our friends, neighbors, country.

 That is the American Spirit.  We trust and hope in good. 

May God bless and protect the USA.

Serenity on my Porch

Inspired by Jaimie Jo's view from her porch and Paula's room with a view last week, I thought I'd share the view from my porch as well. 

This was my fabulously peaceful morning today.  It is a great place to center oneself and spend some time alone with God.  It is so easy to pray out here in the solitude.  At one point I could hear a vehicle off in the distance, sounded like a bigger truck, I think.  But other than that, it was nothing but birds singing, hummingbirds zipping by, and a few noisy crows off in the distance.    Then the kids woke up and got going.

This really is a favorite spot for us to hang out.  The late afternoon sun makes it rather toasty at times, but all in all, we just can't beat it. 

Remember this pic?  The kids often ask to eat lunch out here.

'Nesting' on this porch is an ongoing process for me.  It's fun that it's always evolving.  Any time I get to rummage/yard sales, or go to the annual flea market in a nearby town, I'm on the lookout for 'new' things to go on the porch.  That makes me happy. 

I can see how I want both the yard and porch to look in my mind, and I'm always thinking about how to work things so that what's in my head is actually what everyone else sees, too.  That is a real chore at times, but it'll be worth it.

Wishing well we inherited from my mother-in-law.

I need to remind myself to stop the daily routine a bit more often so as to spend more time out here enjoying the view and the solitude, just as it is.

Summer Time

What have I been up to?   I've been pretty quiet here on my little blog.  Yes, I know.

 

Are you familiar with FlyLady's SHE acronym?  That is me.  I am a SHE.  A Sidetracked Home Executive.

I married a perfectionist.  I used to be one of those "just do the best you can, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, it's not perfect but looks great" kind of gals.  Used to be.   But not now.  Now I have somehow caught the perfectionist-tic bug.

You see, if it isn't going to be done 'right,' I tend to not even do it at all.  And that really bugs me.  I want to get back to the "just do it - and get it done!" way of doing things.  So I'm going to try.  Really hard.

Especially here.   Here I should be able to get things done exactly as I want them done.  But I don't have time.  Because I want it done perfectly.  

Which indeed reminds me of one of my favorite sayings:  There is no perfection this side of heaven!

Only God is perfect.  Life gets in the way.  We get in the way.  We get busy.  We get side-tracked.  We have other thing to do!  We have family to visit.  We have fun!  We forget to make time to clean our house.  We forget the meal plan.  We cram it all in during the summer.

So this is what I intend to do here:  Get caught up a bit with some of our activities.  Whether they are perfectly posted or not.  Whether they are listed in chronological order or not.  Whether that perfectionist in me likes it or not!

Tuesday Tea Talk

It's Tuesday and my friend Jamie Jo is hosting Tea Talk.....

1.  You are at the doctors office and have just been informed you have 1 month to live.

a) Who do you tell?

Hmmm.  This would be a tough one, for sure.  Well, I'd compose myself and tell Craig.  I think next I'd tell God that I appreciate the "heads-up," but I'd be praying that the diagnosis was wrong.  I'd call our parish prayer chain, asking for prayers without giving any real details.  Then I'd get a second diagnosis.   If the second diagnosis confirmed the first, I'd then tell my kids, I think, as well as my immediate family.  And then the prayer chain, including several of our closest priest friends, asking for prayers for all of us. 

b) What do you do with your remaining days?
Spend as much time as possible with my loved ones, and write letters to each of them, telling them how much I love them and why, so they'd have something tangible to hang on to.  Also we'd take lots of pictures of us together....  and I'd pray for them, so that they'd know how to deal with life and their grief when I died.
c)  Would you be afraid?
Not for me, really, but for my children, the youngest three in particular, and my husband (how would he handle life without me there to help each day?).  And I'd be afraid that my grandkids would not remember their Nana, and how much I love each one of them.

2.  What is the one thing about yourself you like best?

Hmmm.  Not an easy question either.  I think my loyalty. Or sincerity.  

I treat others as I like to be treated, and I go out of my way many times a day to help those whom I love.  Honestly, I even go out of my way to help strangers.

3.  What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

 Listen to the rain on the roof!  Oh I love that sound.  We often go outside on the covered porch when it is raining to enjoy it. 

4.  What do you do when the clock turns 10:10?

Nothing different.....  just keep doing whatever it was that I was doing at 10:09.   ??  (I'm sure there is something significant with this question, but I don't know what it is.)

5.  Hamburger or cheeseburger?  Grilled or Fried?

Mmmmmmmm, that sounds so good.  If its at home, on the grill, I'll have a hamburger.  But if its at one of my two favorite eat out places, I'll have a cheeseburger, grilled, with onions, thank you.  I eat one half there, and carry the other half home for the next day's lunch.    

Thank you for hosting, Jamie Jo.  I really enjoyed our visit.  (You had some tough questions again!)  I enjoyed iced sweet tea, because we had some real nice temps here today.  It was 80-beautifully sunny degrees! 

Sure hope I can make it again next time... and until then, Blessings to you!  

Tuesday Tea Talk

It's Tuesday and my friend Jamie Jo is hosting Tea Talk.....



1. What is your phone's ring tone?
Just a regular default setting.  I know. No excitement here! 

2. Would you ever have plastic surgery?
Only if it were medically necessary, but not if it were cosmetic.

3. You are having a bad day, who do you want to talk to?
Usually no one.  If it were a really bad day, as in horrible, and I felt the entire world is against me.......     I'd fume for a while, maybe even mope for a few minutes, then possibly call Christi, my girlfriend in Ohio.  We go back a long way, and she's a great one to vent to.  She never, ever makes me feel like she's judging me. And after I'm done venting, she might offer advice, but always, I feel better by the time we hang up.

4. At a movie theatre which arm rest is yours?

They have arm rests at theatres?  LOL.  No, seriously, I DO remember that they have arm rests - cuz they always got in the way of my cuddling up with Craig!   Usually, we'd share the armrest between us and hold hands during a movie.

It's been so long since I've been to a theatre, I can't even remember the last movie I saw.   Well, it certainly was when my oldest daughter stayed here with the PeeWees, and Craig and I went out....  because that's the only way we've gotten to go out for the last 11 years... but I haven't a clue as to when it was or the movie we saw.  My guess is about 1 to 1 1/2 years ago....   

and the prices nowadays!  Geesh!  Seriously, Craig and I used to fill up the car with gasoline, eat a quick bite for dinner AND see a movie -- all for less than $20.   We'd splurge for a bucket of popcorn sometimes, for an additional $3...  and that was 'expensive' back then!!  

5. If you had to go back in time to change one thing, if you had to, what would it be?
Hmm.  Digging really deep here...   It would have to be while we lived in Ohio, Craig was insisting on getting a vasectomy, and I protested....  but obviously not loudly or passionately enough.  He did it anyway.   I prayed for seven years  before my prayers were answered:  he had a change of heart, and he got it reversed.  (Thank you St. Andrew!)  I am certain that we have children that were never conceived because of that - and I honestly feel a huge void in our eleven year gap between child number three and number four....   if I think about that for any length of time, I slip into the depths of depression over that whole thing.  So I can't allow myself to go there for more than a minute or two, and must force myself to move on.

The advice you gave in your answer to question 5, Jamie, is fantastic:  offering up everything for Him.  Like you, I take this cross over so many other crosses out there.  I thank God for the six wonderful children He has blessed me with.  I love each and every one of them immensely!


Thank you again for a lovely conversation, Jamie.  I opted for iced tea today, too, sweetened tea, that is.  It's not very warm here at 59-degrees, but Spring is in the air, and I felt for a nice tall glass of iced tea so I brewed some up this morning.   Mmm.  I hope to see you next week!

Tuesday Tea Talk

It's Tuesday and my friend Jamie Jo is hosting Tea Talk.....

1.  Where do you like to go to have fun?
I like to take the kids to the zoo,  all our family likes to picnic and hike/walk through nature, we love playing in/around Lake Superior...     as far as 'Mommy Time' fun - even though I don't often buy anything, I looove to go antiquing!   


2. What songs always make you happy?

I like a couple of the good ol' hits from musicals:  My Favorite Things (Sound of Music), Shall We Dance (King & I)...  as well as a lot of '80's songs, and almost any Bon Jovi song!  :-)  

But the ones that keep me singing all day long are my favorites from church... Immaculate Mary, Regina Caeli, Lead Me Lord, God We Bless You, Glory and Praise to Our God, Sing to the Mountains, Now We Remain, You Are Mine, Be Not Afraid, We Are Called... enough yet?

3. What is the first thing you notice when meeting someone for the first time? 

I notice two things:  their eyes (you can tell a lot about a person by looking in their eyes)......  and also whether they actually concentrate on the conversation you're having (distracted? uninterested?).

4. What was your favorite sitcom growing up?

I'm showing my age.....   Bewitched.  I wished I could be like Samantha Stevens and just wiggle my nose to get things to happen.  Wouldn't that be amazing?  I loved Endora and her inability to call Darren by his correct name.  Deerwood! So funny.

5. What is beauty? (a deep question)  

Hmm.  Beauty is...

a newborn baby.  And a mother nursing it.  Trying to see things (as near as we can, anyway) as God sees them.  To do all that we do with love; to 'see' someone with our hearts.

The ability of long-married folks who can look at each other and communicate without saying a word, like my grandparents did.  The sunrise over Lake Superior.  A sunset over the mountains in New Mexico.

I thank you for hosting, Jamie Jo.  I enjoyed our visit.  Sure hope I can make it again next week... and until then, Blessings to you!

 

Thoughts during Easter Week

Isn't this the most beautiful image?

I came across this image while doing a Google image search for Regina Caeli.  I just love that transcending chant, and am printing the words in Latin on card stock so we can read it while we sing.  Of course, the hope is that this will be permanently embedded into our brains, so that we (meaning the children) will be able to sing it any time we want for the rest of our lives!   So I printed the words out in Latin on card stock, added the above image, and viola!  Instant learning tool.  

The fact that we get the privilege to sing the Regina Caeli during the Easter Season is one of my favorite things about Easter...  I love that chant.  Do you need a little something to help jog your memory?  Try this. It's almost angelic in its simplicity. 

Now while I was searching that for you, I came across Sandi Patti singing Via Dolorosa.  Wow.  I may have heard it before, many years ago, because there was something familiar about it.  Chills, I tell you.  I got chills, and goosebumps, and teary-eyed, too. 

Then I began thinking.  Do we live our lives according to the purpose of His calling?  I mean, thinking again about what the Lord has done for each of us,don't we just spend each day of our lives doing what we want to do, without regard to what He wants of each of us? Considering all the blessings God has poured into our lives/my life, I really need to try to serve and glorify Him more.   

The world must know that I love the Father and do everything as the Father has commanded me.  John 14:31

Wishing you a very blessed Easter Season, friends.

Tuesday Tea Talk

My friend Jamie Jo is hosting Tea Talk, a fun way to get to know each other. She asks 4 or 5 random questions and we then answer them. So here we go....

1. What is something you wish you were better at?

Housekeeping.  I just don't put housekeeping high enough on my priority list to make time to keep it really neat and clean.  The house isn't filthy... just in a constant state of a sprinkling of dust, and cluttered.  (Does the home renovation/addition have anything to do with this?)

But I think some of that has to do with upbringing, don't you?  I've never experienced "spring cleaning" or anything of the like.  I remember being in my early to mid- twenties, and hearing that term 'spring cleaning' for the first time and was actually kinda of perplexed, thinking 'what was that?'  It couldn't literally mean cleaning because it was Spring?? 

       

2. Why do you like the music you do?

I really don't know.  Craig only listened to rock when we were dating, and I can still sing most of the lyrics to all the classical rock songs on Craig's ipod or the radio.  

I liked a lot of styles, including classical, but now my go-to favorite is piano instrumentals.  It is so calming in a busy house.  

I used to listen to country about 20 years ago, but realized that it is usually so depressing!  And I still like praise songs on the Christian stations.  I listened to that a lot when we lived in Ohio, right about the time of my reversion. 

But my hands-down favorite group tho, is Bon Jovi.  Love, love, LOVE that voice.  (sigh.)  Isn't it about time for another tour to MN, Jon?

3. New York or California?

Hmmm.  That one is hard.  If New York means New York City , I'd choose California.  But if it also means New York state, I'd choose NY state.  I'd love to see that part of the country. 

4. Ocean or Pool?

I like the ocean, and I like to look for seashells....  and I like the pool...   

Really tho, hands down, I could pass both of them for the North Shore of Lake Superior.  It really is my top choice.  I LOVE going to the 'Shore.  We spend lots of time there doing various things: picnics, hiking, looking for rocks, even schooling!  Just LOVE the North Shore. 

5. Favorite Year so far?  

This one is tough too, but I think I'd have to say 1982.  The year Craig and I were married.  The best time of my life was our honeymoon --- finally being with him 24/7.....  falling asleep in his arms and waking in his arms.  sigh.   Just being with him all. the. time.  We went to the Black Hills of South Dakota.   Saw funnel clouds, and I feared we'd die after being married for one day!   We had fun hiking, and going on picnics, and just the road trip together was perfect.  Hmmm.  Sure do wish we could go on a "just the two of us" vacation one of these days... 

       

Oh, it's time to go already?!  The time sure passed quickly.  Thank you so much for the tea Jamie Jo, I really enjoyed our visit!  Sure hope I can make it again next time... until then, Blessings to you!

 

Fresh Jam in February

I made jam one afternoon last week.  It smelled SO delicious in this house - like a bit of summer right here.  In the middle of February. 

Triple Berry Jam boiling on the stovetop

I prepared a few batches of jam in July, then made the appropriate preparations so that I could make more in the middle of winter.  This is the first year that I actually did this.  It worked out so well, I will definitely do it again.

Strawberry Jam

I just measured out my crushed fruit, and instead of placing it into my saucepan, I placed it into a freezer zip-type bag, labeled it and popped it into the freezer.  There it sat, patiently waiting for me for the past 7 months.

The masses were complaining rather loudly that we had no jam left in the pantry The mood struck the other day, so I just placed a few bags of frozen fruit into a large plastic container and set it all into the refrigerator to thaw. 

From that point on, I just followed the regular instructions on the box of Sure-Jell, as I do in the summer while making fresh jam.

It makes perfect sense to do this in the winter, you know.  The summer here tends to be rather warm and humid in July, the central air is humming, and here I'd stand, making more heat and steam while cranking out a few cases of jam before the berries rot over-ripen.   

It was a nice, cool winter day, and I was at my stove top creating some steamy, deliciously summery-smelling aromas to waft throughout the house.  It was fabulous.

 

Didn't even feel like a chore, as it sometimes does in the summer.

I made a total of 18 jars of Triple Berry Jam (that's a combination of fresh strawberries, raspberries and blackberries) and 17 jars of Strawberry Jam.

I have a few more bags of freshly frozen berries out in the freezer - waiting to be turned into summer in-a-jar jam.

I do enjoy giving away a jar or two of jam.  All I ask is that you return the empty jar after you lick every last speck out of it thoroughly wash the sticky jar.  

What is National Chocolate Mint Day?

I didn't know....    But according to Dawn,  today is National Chocolate Mint Day.  

Looks both pretty and yummy, no?

Even if one doesn't care terribly much for mint, we can still have fun! 

I did hit on my perfect combination of chocolate and mint... 

 ...together, yup, at the same time.  I've never been crazy about mint, but with these two, there is just a hint of minty yumminess.

Make time to enjoy fun days like these!

What Did You Have This Morning?

"So, what 'dge you have this morning?"  is the customary greeting on cold days, like today.

I am talking COLD.   Frigidly cold.  We read minus 38 degrees just after 7 am today on our thermometer.

Duluth, MN's official reading was -24 degrees, while International Falls, MN (and Babbitt, MN , where our Grandmas and Grandpa live) dipped as low as -46.   Brrr.  Now that's cold!

Dear hubby left for work as usual this morning at about 5:20am.  No problems, thankfully.  He started his car and let it run for several minutes before leaving today.  That's to warm the engine up to help prevent any problems, you know.

Anyway, we carried on, 'business as usual' around here.  Mimi went outside at -30 to feed the barn cat, dogs and the chickens.  She bundled up, of course, and made her way through the routine.  I believe her step was a bit quicker than normal today.  

The local public schools went on a '2-hour delay' this morning.  Smart.  It'd be rough to be out there at the coldest part of the day.  It had 'warmed' to -25 at 10:00 am, so it was still pretty darn cold, but I'm sure those kids were happy to get the morning off.

Our two dogs were brought inside overnight last night.  They were happy to stay in the entryway.  But not terribly eager to venture outside this morning!  The kids asked me if the dogs could stay in all day, but my reply was, "When it reaches 10 below, out they go."  Well, it is -7 now and they are both napping contentedly in the entryway...   so sometimes I am a pushover.

A light cloud cover made it's way over us within the past hour or so, which is supposed to bring a few snow flurries our way.  Sure makes me long for the sun now.  We've had gorgeous, blinding sunshine the last three days.  It's been lovely!  Heavenly, almost.  It is so delicious and incredibly bright in here when the sun shines, that we pulled the blinds, in winter.  In fact, it is so amazing, its my favorite place to be.  All warm and cozy, cheery and bright,  no matter how cold it gets outside!

I Like my Kids

Sorry, but I need to vent a bit.  I've heard from two different women within the past week a couple comments that have really been troubling me.

The first was when I'd gone to a medical facility the Friday before school began for routine immunotherapy.  (Allergy shots.)  This is the first time I've ever seen this particular woman, and she was just making small talk while we were both waiting.   The first thing she said to me was, "Are you ready for Tuesday?"  (The upcoming Tuesday would be the first day of school for the public schools in the area.)

I told her that yes, I was.  I didn't elaborate that we home school, or that we'd be beginning our school year on Wednesday, which meant that Tuesday would be our last day of 'summer vacation'.

Then she said, "I'll be waiting for that big yellow bus with bells on!  I can't wait for school to begin - this was such a long summer.  In fact, I took Tuesday off of work so that I can celebrate and enjoy the whole house to myself!  Aren't you glad that the kids are going back to school?"

Hmmm.  Now I had to say something.  So I said with a smile, "Well, we home school, so they aren't going to be leaving the house anytime soon..."  

At this point, she puts her hand up, palm toward me,  lowers her head and says, "You are a much better woman than I!  I could never home school my kids.  They would drive me crazy and I just have to work to keep my sanity."  And she said this matter-of-factly, with a slight smile on her face, and not the least bit upset about it.

I sat there for the split-second before they called her name thinking, How utterly sad.  

She got up, we quickly said polite good-byes and she was gone.

I really felt a sadness for her (and her children) while I was left waiting there.  This woman doesn't want to spend time with her own children.  And its been bothering me for an entire week.

Then another dear lady and I were talking several days ago, and I told her that I had run to a neighboring town to purchase bookcases for our school room/dining room.  She was saying how great it was that I got out alone because, "no one should have to be with their kids 24 hours a day."   Excuse me?  Like this is a punishment.

I said, "Well, you know that we really aren't together every minute of every day...." trying to lighten it up a bit.

She said, "But no one should have to be stuck with their kids every day, all day."

Now just wait a minute.  'Stuck'?  I'm not 'stuck' with my kids.  I choose to spend my time with my kids.  Yes, it's great when Hubby and I get the rare opportunity to go out for a date: dinner, movie, etc.  We really appreciate those occasions!  

But I'm not STUCK with my kids.  I like my kids.  A lot!  And I like spending my time with them.   Sure, I'll send the kids outside to play when I get tired of the non-stop commotion.  But they often do their own things: they go off on their own to read a book, they write to pen-pals or they do an awful lot of drawing, they climb trees or make forts in the woods,  and they even play at the neighbor's house.

No matter how dear this lady is to me, I really take offense when it is portrayed that I am having to spend time with my family against my will, like its a less-than desired way to live.  She knows me.  She knows how I feel about my kids.

I enjoy spending my days alongside my children.  In fact, I thank God daily for allowing me to spend my days with my family, and for the blessing of a hard-working husband who allows me to be 'stuck with the kids' on a daily basis.

I wanted to shout to her and anyone who cared to listen,  "I like my kids and I like being with them!!"

I just politely answered her with, "I'm not stuck with the kids.  You know that I really like having them home with me."

And she said, "Well, you know what I mean," and promptly changed the subject.

A New Beginning

My first post on my first blog.   Who would've thought?!  Why am I even creating this blog?  Really, I think I am intending it to be a record of sorts for the kids.  And for me.  A record of our schooling adventures, of our every-day-life activities, of my thoughts, plans and hopes for the kids and for our family.   

I have high hopes for school.  I am really looking forward to this school year.  It is full of promise.  And the kids are full of excitement.  They are on a count-down.  After dinner this evening Mimi asked me, "How many more days til we start school, Mom?!"   She asks me daily.  Six.  Only six.  Boy, I've got to get in gear!    There are plans to complete, and still art supplies to purchase!  But I've got tubs of books sorted and organized and just waiting for that first day of school.  And waiting for some new bookcases to be purchased so that they can find a home on the new shelves.  

I'll have to get in the habit of taking more pictures of the everyday stuff, so I can show the before and after photos.  Especially in our school room/dining room.  I am hoping to create a major change.  Everything now feels so cluttered and strewn!   My hope is to organize and create an eye-pleasing setting.  At least in this one area.  (I'll attempt to link the blog where my idea was born-but I am so new at this!) 

We are still in the midst of the on-going remodel of the house.  Hence the cluttered and strewn feel in most of the house.  Oftentimes it seems we'll never get it complete.  And I hope that some day we will.  But with all the activities and traveling we did this summer, there's little doubt as to why nothing was accomplished.  Oh well, now that summer is over (in my book) -- it is my hope that we'll get motivated to begin again on the house - one little step at a time.