KACHEA Talent Show 2013

day to day

I remember reading a book in college called Wisdom Distilled from the Daily.  I honestly don't remember much of the book's subject matter.  But I do vague memories of it having something to do with finding the sacred in the day to day.

I think we often focus on "big" moments--monumental events, milestones, game-changers.  But much of life is the ordinary, the mundane, the routine.  Those big moments are few and far between.  If we aren't really living in all those in between moments, what are we doing?  

But I confess that I don't always appreciate the daily grind as I should.  Children are little for such a brief time, and I know that, but there are still days when it's just hard.  I'm tired, I'm grumpy, I'm overwhelmed, and everything seems monotonous.  

When I look back on my childhood, of course I remember the "big" moments--birthdays and holidays and celebrations.  But I also remember a whole host of little moments--ordinary, day-to-day type moments.  So I'm trying to remember to be fully present in those moments with my own children.

I don't always succeed.  I'm still tired and grumpy more often than I'd like.

But tonight we celebrated.  What did we celebrate?  Well, nothing really.  But Sarah wanted a candlelight dinner.  She wanted cloth napkins and fancy glasses and so forth.  So I made spaghetti, and we had salad and pineapple and garlic bread, and we ate by the light of flickering flames.

It felt special.  We sat and talked long after the food was finished.  I admit the darkness made it hard to see, so Natalie ended up wearing some of her spaghetti, but all in all it was a big success.

Here's to enjoying fully the day to day.  :) 

Excuse the clutter--this is real life, people!  ;)

long time no post

*blows dust off of blog* (again)

It seems I have to do that periodically.  I'll be going along, blogging semi-regularly, when all of a sudden I just stop.  And then I have a hard time getting restarted. 

Sorry about that.

Of course, there are dozens of blog posts I could have written over the past few months.  Writing them now really isn't feasible.  Or reasonable.  I doubt you're missing too much anyway, so we'll just pick up and move on from here, hmm? 

I am going to try to keep this updated more frequently, with day-to-day goings-on.  I don't promise long posts, but just some short snippets of life. 

For now, school continues tripping along.  We've settled into a good groove, I think.  I'm happy with our curricula, and the girls are too.  We all love taking care of the baby (Natalie is especially enamored).  The girls got to ride horses back in September, which they loved and are still talking about.  I signed up for NaNoWriMo, and I may post periodically on how it's going.  But for the most part, life just goes along normally. 

But hopefully, now that I've written this post, it will be easier to write about normal life as it goes along.  That's how it's been in the past anyway--once I finally blow off the dust and actually write again, it's easier to write again. 

Fingers crossed, anyway. 

growing up

There's a strange tension to be felt as children grow older.  On the one hand, there's a part of me wishes I could keep them little just a bit longer--preserve that sweetness and innocence and cuteness.  But I have to admit there are moments where I'm just so proud of how they're maturing that I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yesterday I had started some laundry, but I'll confess to forgetting to shift it over to the dryer when it was finished.  My allergies are acting up this week, so I feel lousy, I got busy with the baby, and I just plain forgot.  

The girls headed downstairs to brush teeth.  I was feeding and diapering the little one, but I realized that they were taking an awfully long time.  What on earth were they doing?

Natalie finally wandered up the stairs.  I asked her about the delay, and she proudly told me, "We were doing laundry!"  Sure enough, I could hear the dryer going.  They had taken it upon themselves to switch the laundry over for me.  C'mon now, all together:  awwwwwwww....

As a funny side note to the whole growing up thing: Sarah is definitely a child of the modern era.  She happens to love the Beach Boys' music.  The other day, she was listening to the song "Kokomo."  Nelson and I reminisced on it being popular when we were in elementary school.  Sarah then chirped, "So this is what everyone had for their ring tones on their phones?"

Um, suuuuure...

a horse is a horse of course of course

It started with My Little Pony.  We don't have cable, but the girls know how to rock YouTube.  They watched the modern-day "Friendship Is Magic" MLP.  They watched the 1980s G1 MLP that I grew up with.  They watched two incarnations of the show I never even knew existed.  They watched them all--over and over again.  

They started collecting MLP toys at birthdays and Christmas and other such things.  I felt like I was living in My Little Pony world.

Somewhere along the way, though, it shifted.  Suddenly it wasn't just these cartoon ponies captivating the girls--it was horses in general.  They are enthralled with all things equine.  They get horse books from the library (non-fiction ones, no less)--every time we go.  They love spotting horses when we're out driving.  Natalie does a pretty spot-on neighing sound.  They have added some really realistic-looking horse figurines to their toy collection.  They love them.  

Reading the library books with them has taught me a thing or two I didn't know (I can't say I was ever much of a horse fan, so it's not hard).  I think we might kick off the school year with a horse unit study I have--both girls will enjoy that, and it might help us ease back into the school routine.  Might as well leverage their obsession while I can, right?  

amid the stench

Note:  it is not my intent to hurt or blame anyone with this post.  This is simply me working through my own feelings.  

My house smells like peanut butter this week.

If you aren't aware, I loathe peanut butter.  I can't stand the taste.  I despise the gloppy texture.  And I abhor the smell.  

I don't usually keep it on hand.  But the girls have had it elsewhere, and this week they requested peanut butter from the store.  And since it's something of a rarity around here, they have been eating it every day.  Sometimes for more than one meal.

The smell of peanut butter seems to permeate my kitchen.  I think it stinks.

But it fits with this week.

We got heartbreaking news on Sunday.  Our beloved pastor of ten years is leaving.  I don't even have words for what he has meant to our church and to our family.  It's hard, and it hurts, and I have more emotions than I can process.  I cry, and I pray, and I cry some more.  Even just going about normal daily tasks, I have this kind of hollow ache.  

It stinks.  And I hate it.  

But my girls are loving their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and their peanut butter on banana bread breakfasts.  Natalie is a terribly picky eater, but this week she's getting good protein and healthy fats.  So something good is coming out of that wretched smell that lingers in my kitchen.

A core doctrine of biblical Christianity is that God is sovereign.  He is in control.  He gives beauty for ashes, and He works all things together for the good of those who loves Him.  And as Mark Lowry put it, this situation has not shocked Him off His throne.  He is more than capable of working His will through it and bringing something good out of it.  

I am clinging to that right now.  Even as I wrinkle my nose against the stink.  

summer fun

I have been fighting with my phone for a few days now, trying to make it give up these pictures.  It didn't want to do it.  But I finally managed to convince it.  I win.  HA!

I think I'll take photos on the iPad from now on.  It's much more cooperative in the picture-taking department.

Anyway, we had gift card credit (I LOVE gift card credit), so the girls wanted a pool.  They wanted a big pool. 

They have had a blast already.  :)