Little of This, Little of That

Little Man had his Thanksgiving Feast! Sister got to come along, but only after promising Little Man's teacher that she would NOT disrupt the program. She was perfectly obedient and precious and Little Man rocked the program. Teacher says he's much more animated sans the audience. I smile and thought, "you have no idea."

We ordered FPU, Jr. for Sister a few years ago. She lost her "give" envelope and Little Man wanted a set. I'd seen these in fabric and thought they'd be perfect, except for the time factor (and time is quite valuable these days!) and quite frankly, I don't think my kiddos really care if their envelopes are fabric or not. (One day I'm making myself a fabric set!)

So I made some out of my ancient paper stash. I taped 'em up with packing tape and affixed a little velcro tab for security.

And labeled 'em...

And stuck 'em in some little pockets and tacked 'em on the bulletin board. Done. Sweet. And Sister and Little Man are even more motivated! Funny how a little something new can have that effect.

And life these days...it's just crazy. If there's a horizontal surface, IT WILL GET COVERED with project materials.

Or books...or levels...or...

shelves...

Yep, the whole house is feeling it.

And Monday - maybe? I got up at 6:30 and opted for a little quiet reading time instead of immediately dressing...it was really humbling when our Assistant Pastor stopped by to drop something off - around lunch time - and I had to poke my head around the front door and say, "um, this is incredibly humbling. I'm still in my pajamas and robe. We've already finished homeschool and I've been cleaning house, etc. I just haven't stopped to get dressed."

The worst part? I never stopped to get dressed. Even ate supper in my pajamas. Gross. I mean, really, that is gross. I haven't done that since I had a real reason to - like the first few days home after a baby was born.

Saturday we were up and out early - and I just happened to be messing with my camera and looked up in time to capture this. Thank goodness The Engineer stepped in just as I clicked. (Little Man has gardening clippers in hand.)

And the dirty dishes...this was after considerable washing. Life. The beautiful messes...

One night last week The Engineer and I were so exhausted that immediately following dinner, we put the children to bed...and shortly thereafter went to bed ourselves. And do you know what we didn't do? Clear the table. We have NEVER gone to bed with dirty dishes sitting on the table like that. That is so gross, and I never thought I'd say this, but sometimes, necessary.

That same morning I walked past this bathroom and, well, check out what I found. I guess someone had a potty snack? I let the kids finish that box.

And the library. On it's way.

Last night I had a little melt down. And now, the house is back in shape. The renovation mess is limited to the breakfast room and the library itself. All the dishes are done. The counters are cleared and cleaned. And all the laundry is done. I even ironed for a few hours last night. (Still have an impressive pile...)

We plan to shelve the books this weekend!!! WOOOooo hooo! We'll trim the shelves and coffered ceiling in later...like, after December 3rd.

And, completely random, I am so in love with The Engineer. We just finished a five week marriage class on communication....and we ended the last session in a fight. A huge fight that lasted until 12:30 am. He told me I was too tired to fight. I ignored him and pressed on...and we argued. And the next morning, when I apologized, he was incredibly gracious. He pointed me to the cross, to Jesus, and he fleshed out Christ's forgiveness to me. 

Heather posted this song on her blog a few months ago. It's become one of our favorites...only we were both 20...and it's been almost nine years. Marriage is hard. That's what the promise is for. Y'all, fight for it! 

Now, listen (please) to this song and then go kiss your man and tell him you love him!

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!