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!

Gettin' Ready

On December 3rd, we're hosting a formal seated dinner for our Sunday School class...what we didn't realize was that the final head count would be over 100 people...like...115 people. 

And we're trying to finish the library so we can clear tables, etc. of books and restore a slight semblance of order in our home (which will be absolutely fantastic!)...

We're preparing to move and stack most of our furniture in our bedroom, including the bed in the downstairs guest room...'cause we need space for lots of tables.

Because even with many who won't be able to come (we did put RSVP on the invitations) , it's sure to be a large party.

I'm pretty excited. The Engineer is laid back and go with the flow. THANK the Lord.

The "to-do" list is a mile long.

Our desire is that God be glorified in and through this evening. (Which also means I should treat my family with kindness in the days leading up to the event...)

So it's kind of busy 'round here. I can't wait! My mind is racing with ideas and excitement!

It's been a good week. Sister has made some significant progress in reading - which THRILLS my heart! Little Man had his Thanksgiving feast. Little Bit is cutting molars and that has been something terrible. The Engineer is still running. Woo hoo! He is lookin' so fine. I am still struggling to embrace the mornings sans caffeine. Oh I miss it. 

I came across this list of "cannots" written by Reverend William John Henry Boetcker. 

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves. 

I rather like it.

Happy weekend y'all!

Happy Weekend Y'all!

It's been a strange week...Monday night The Engineer took Little Bit to get her siblings from the Grands...and left me ALL BY MYSELF IN MY OWN HOUSE!!! That's the first time I've been ALONE in my house in months. It was really wonderful! REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. WONDERFUL. I love my babies, but oh, that alone time was a precious treat.

I've been under the weather and Little Bit's got a runny nose and is cutting at least one molar and so we skipped Bible Study Wednesday. It's just been a strange week.

We worked on some craft projects. Little Bit mostly ate her crayons. (Mom, those are the PRANG crayons you and Dad gave me for my birthday when I was a little girl - remember? They were "real artists crayons!" I always thought there was something magical about them. They're pretty special to me. Still.) 

Sister cranked out some homeschool work...we've said goodbye to Anne - she's waiting on the bookshelf for a few years - and we have eagerly welcomed Stuart Little.

We made a few collages. 

Little Man made two robots. Can you tell he's looking a tad bulky in that shirt? He dressed himself. Should you have peaked beneath those stripes, you would have found a golden colored sweater handmade by The Engineer's grandmother. It buttons down the front. Little Man put it on upside down. And then layered the stripes atop. 

We used "bleeding" tissue paper. It was a blast to work with. 

Sister made a "funeral scene." I'm not exactly sure what that's about.

One of the dogs left a wet yellow blob on the rug. By the time I realized what it was, it had soaked in pretty good. Little Man got the magnifying glass to further investigate. I wouldn't recommend it.

This little diva found Sister's purse, hung it around her own neck, and INSISTED on carrying that toy phone in hand. All. Morning. Long. Hee hee. 

I snapped this photo after diner and was struck by just how precious and beautiful life is. The messes. The fussy, teething baby. The days and nights of sometimes seeming monotony, and yet that is so much of what life is! So while I readied children for bed, and pulled covers up beneath chins, and whispered sweet goodnights, I tried to really look, to really see it all. And to hide it away in my heart. To savor now and in the days and weeks and months and mostly, in the years to come.

Let me introduce you to my new best friend. I found him on the shelf at Publix. Let me tell you, he will greatly motivate your little ones to consume not one, not two, but THREE bowls of soup. He is also quite capable and will likely motivate your six year old to spell and your three year old to pick out every number and letter he can identify. 

I can only think of one downside. He keeps the entire family's heads down and conversation will be limited to, "I found an 'e!' Do you need an 'e?'" "No, that's okay. I have an 'e' - oh wait, I just ate it. Yes, pass the 'e!'"

Happy weekend, y'all! 

Take Me Back...

Guess what I just found???

Pictures from our very first home! Married Student Housing. Cinder block walls. Who cared? We were in love and we were married and all 550 sq feet of it was OURS!!!

I have smiled SO BIG looking back through these...like our dumpster sofa? For real. It stayed with us the first, um, five or six years of marriage. 

Check out the tv stand. That was one of The Engineer's first projects.

I remember arranging everything "just so" and being thrilled with the end result. My very own little house!

I keep spotting things that have stayed with us and served us well...the candlesticks, those urns (rescued from my grandmother's trash pile!), the busts, the planter, etc.

Our little kitchen. I learned A LOT in there! Back in the day...no dishwasher...The Engineer ate some, um, less than stellar meals.

Our makeshift shelving system above the stove...LOVED it! And Easter candy atop the fridge.

The Engineer's desk...

Even then we had a lot of books.

My desk. It's in Sister's room now, with that same $5 thrift store chair! (Sans the cushion.)

A third bookshelf.

Still use that chest. $5 at an estate sale.

And OUR front door! Those were SUCH fun days! We were SO young - 20 -  and so in love and had SO MUCH to learn! God is so good. So gracious. So precious. I can't think of a more wonderful start - because God's fingerprints - His tender mercies are ALL OVER it! He has changed us both so much. I am so thankful!

And then I found this picture of our little family of three at my sister's wedding. The Engineer and I took dance lessons for six weeks in preparation for that night - he pulled something in his back cleaning out mom's gutters the day before and could barely move. 

And look at my mom - with Sister in her arms - and Mom is glowing!!! 

The bouquet toss...

And they were off! 

Going through these had me grinning and laughing and the wedding photos - that was during a very hard time in our lives. We'd just had a miscarriage and my dad had just moved out. Our family was broken, in every sense of the word. There was a lot of heartache. Lots of tears. It was so hard. And yet, I am so thankful that tonight I could pour back through these and laugh. There is still pain and it still hurts, but as mama reminded me, God does have a plan in all of this. He is good and sovereign. And I am thankful these pictures brought smiles tonight - smiles as I think of my sister and her family, smiles as I think of mama and how God has lifted her head, smiles as I think of my baby sister, smiles as I think about what God has done in my little family, smiles as I thank God for the peace He has given. It is hard and it is good.