Wrapping Up January

Somebody must have shortened January this year.  

Each year, when the last day of the first month rolls around, I can scarcely believe my eyes.  "Didn't this year just start?" is my refrain.  "And now one-twelfth of it is already gone?"  I always do this and then have to laugh a little at myself.

But this year--seriously--where did January go?  This swift passage of time proves one thing to me:  I'm really getting old.  :)

Here's the next proof of my increasing age:  I'm going to talk about the weather.  ;-)

So, what's up with this warmth?  Temps in the upper 60's on January 31?  That's not right, is it?  Even nature seems to be a mite confused, because my daffodils are popping up and daily I see robins hopping around in our yard.  As loath as I am to complain about the mildness of this winter, I am longing for at least one good snow to come soon.  That's really not too much to expect from a Shenandoah Valley winter, is it?

Meanwhile, while I scan the forecast for a dip in temperatures and look toward the sky for the sight of snow clouds, I'll keep savoring the spring-like weather.  The winter passes so much more pleasantly and easily when every few days, it's warm enough for the boys to go outside for some fresh air and exercise.  Today, for example, Josiah and David spent part of their quiet time reading outside on the trampoline.  They weren't wearing jackets and--shhhhh, they weren't even wearing socks.  ;-)

Here at the end of January, our winter schedule is in full swing:  choir for both Josiah and David on Monday evenings, violin lessons for those two on Wednesdays, swimming lessons for them on Saturday mornings.  Thankfully, the pace doesn't feel too busy; and the best part?  If Baby Girl stays put until close to her due date, both swimming lessons and the regular choir season will be over by the time she is born.  Although I was hoping to get pregnant sooner than we did, it's easy to see, with the perspective of hindsight, that God's timing for this pregnancy was better than ours.  No surprise there, however!  :)  If only I would remember this every time I chafe at His "slowness"!

Each Sunday, I've been reporting about my progress towards my one major goal of the year: arising consistently to give the first part of the day to God.  But now that the objective that I once considered unattainable has become almost second-nature to me, I feel ready to turn my attention to--and reveal publicly--other areas in which I have made some plans and set some goals for this year.  I purposely did not construct a long list of resolutions for the new year, because I know well how fun and easy it is to build such a list, but I'm also aware of how discouraging it can be to then be emotionally defeated as time goes by and the fruition is far off.  Particularly a year in which a new baby joins the family, there must be an abundance of grace and flexibility extended to oneself when it comes to plans and dreams!  But following behind my most-important goal for 2012 are some other thoughts, and I'll briefly share about two areas.

First, I'd like to read more books in 2012 than I did in 2011.  I don't have a set number in mind to shoot for; and because I did a very poor job of recording what I read last year, I don't even know how many I'll have to read to surpass 2011's total!  But I do want to be more intentional about reading, and wiser about using a few minutes here and a few minutes there to accomplish more productive reading.  Along with that, I don't want to read just fluff.  Specifically, I want to read at least one book this year that helps me in my relationship with each member of my family:  one marriage book, one book to help me understand Josiah more, one book for how I relate to David, etc.  I've already read one focusing on daughters (Five Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter by Vicki Courtney) and one about marriage (We Should Do This More Often by Lorilee Craker).  For Josiah, I want to read On Becoming Preteen Wise by Ezzo and Bucknam; and for David, I plan to start again--and actually finish this time!--the wonderful book How to Get Your Child off the Refrigerator and on to Learning by Carol Barnier.  I haven't yet decided what to read to help me with Tobin and Shav.  Any suggestions?  Of course, I have a myriad of general parenting books that await me on my bookshelf; and any of them would be helpful.  Now that I think about it, I'd love to reread Small Beginnings by Barbara Curtis; but my copy of it (which revolutionized--no joke--my thinking when Josiah was a toddler) apparently grew feet and walked off, so I'll have to track down another copy.  That one will be great to help me in my relationship with Shav, but what for Tobin?  Well, I still have eleven more months to figure this one out.  :)

Besides that reading focused on family relationships, I also want to read more spiritual/devotional books; and since I'm having regular quiet time in the morning, that won't be hard to accomplish.  Ordinary Faithful People by Robert Hubbard was the first one I finished; and now I've picked up again Crazy Love by Francis Chan, a book I started a year ago but never got all the way through.

Not all of my reading has to be heavy though, and right now I'm loving the books of Bess Streeter Aldrich.  A Lantern in Her Hand is one of my all-time favorite books, but I've been able to get some of her other books at our local library and I'm enjoying them all.  I have to set boundaries for myself about how much time I allow myself to read when I sit down with one of her books!  :)

The second area in which I've made some plans is with housekeeping.  Every year, I want to set the goal of completely organizing and cleaning every single little thing in my house.  To declutter from top to bottom is my intention--a lofty pursuit, to be sure.  On top of that, every time I'm pregnant, guess what I want to do?  Organize the house from top to bottom, every square inch of it, every closet and drawer and nook and cranny.  Guess how often I've actually accomplished this?

Never.

That doesn't stop me though from dreaming about a perfectly-in-order nest in which to welcome our newest little one.  :)  This year, my plan was simple:  spend the month of January focused on the upstairs rooms, the month of February on the main floor, and the month of March on the downstairs (that level is impossible for me to actually accomplish because of the dreaded garage--and the library--neither of which I can completely organize because of Jeff's stuff...I'm not casting stones here, just saying that I don't want to get rid of something that is important to him).  Here at the end of January, I'm only a little behind.  I did completely clean and organize Tobin's room, Shav's room, my room, the upstairs bathroom, and the hallway;  Josiah & David's room, however, did not get done yet, but I made a start there this evening and hope to do more tomorrow.  The major setback though came from the renovation we started doing in Tobin's room.  I had optimistically (foolishly?) projected that we would be able to finish painting his room by his birthday so that we would be able to get things put back in place and then transition Shav to that room so that he would have plenty of time to adjust to it before the new baby is born.  In reality, we didn't even buy the paint until two days after his birthday; and although Jeff is doing a beautiful job with the painting, it takes time!  That room is currently in upheaval, of course; and that has overflowed to the hallway outside Tobin's room.  So even though I very nearly accomplished my January goal for the upstairs, it sure doesn't feel like it!  I try to keep my spirits up by telling myself that as soon as the painting is done, it won't take long at all to get the room back in order...and there is still more than two full months before the baby is due...so Shav will likely be quite well-adjusted to his new environment before the baby's birth.  That kind of self-talk helps when I'm feeling discouraged.  :)

Now that February is here, I'm "supposed" to be focusing on the main floor, which shouldn't be too hard of a job because the living room is completely organized and clutter-free, and the only thing that needs done on the porch is a reorganization of the homeschool closet (which is kind of a big project, but shouldn't be overwhelming).  The bathroom needs organized and cleaned, but that could be done in a day if I could have a little chunk of uninterrupted time.  The kitchen?  Well, that's the beast.  The surfaces are in pretty good shape, but what I'd really like to do is go through all the cupboards and clean and organize.  If you've seen my kitchen, you know why this is an imposing task; we're blessed with A LOT of cupboards!!  :)

I know, of course, that there is nothing sacred about these homemaking goals.  If the spices don't get organized before the baby is born, she won't care in the least.  :)  But still, I hope to see some progress in the next two months...for my own sake, more than for anyone else's.  :)

Two more things remain to be said in this January wrap-up.  First, as commonly happens to me in this first month of the year, I was seized recently by a powerful desire to make homeschool plans for next year.  :)  As a matter of fact, when I started jotting down my thoughts, I found myself actually planning for the next four years!  But then I got sad when I realized that after four years, Josiah will officially be a high schooler; to think that we've already had him for what is probably half of the amount of time he will live at home is sobering and makes me a little misty inside.  So then I stopped planning four years in the future and simply focused on the coming year.  :)  Even though I could have been using that time to do something more pressing and at-hand (organizing a kitchen cupboard, maybe?), I've learned that, when the creativity bubbles up inside me, if I ride that wave, I'll not regret it later but will be exceedingly thankful that, when I was feeling inspired, I captured those thoughts and ideas.  Enthusiasm is much harder to dredge up later, if not captured when it initially surges!

And secondly, January was the month in which I dove back into the world of Facebook.  After abandoning it last September, I toyed with the idea of using it again as this new year approached; and I have to say, I am very glad to be back on it, for many reasons--one of which is the way I can so quickly jot down something that happens that I want to remember later.  Conversations with the boys that would be lost otherwise can be instantly shared and recorded there; but speaking of recording things, I want to transfer to this blog some of my favorite Facebook status updates that I've posted this past month so that when I *someday* print this blog as a book, I'll capture those things I've shared on Facebook, too.

Jan. 30 -  Tobin, just now: "Mom," his eyes sparkled. "My best friend is our dad." Yep, it's true: Jeff has got quite a fan club. :) 


Jan. 29 -  David, during our mommy/son date tonight: "Why didn't God make like a million people so that we wouldn't have to have babies?" I held my tongue and refrained from telling him the whole scoop: that some people actually *enjoy* the process of making babies. ;-) Instead I told him that God loves people so much that He wants there to be more, just like every time we have a baby, my heart grows and loves even more, etc. It appears that these mommy/son dates are turning into Sex Ed nights! 


Jan. 28 -  When Jeff and I got home from our date tonight, Shav excitedly opened the door to the garage and exclaimed, "Mommy! Daddy!" David's response was a little different: "Awww, are you home already? I wanted to play longer!" He's never too thrilled about us coming home...guess that shows how much he loves his babysitters! :)


Jan. 27 - It doesn't seem right that "just" a trip to swimming lessons, Walmart, and the library should do me in; but as we neared the end of our trip, all I could think was, "God, please just help me get home!!" How do three errands and three boys (Josiah stayed at the barbershop after his swimming lesson) wear me out SO much??? :)


Jan. 26 - Tonight at supper, the word "menopause" came up in conversation; and my boys, not being familiar with it, inquired further. I wasn't at all sure what to say, but I finally came up with, "It's when a woman's body stops releasing eggs and she can't have babies anymore." David's response: "Are YOU a CHICKEN? Do YOU lay EGGS??" ;-)

Jan. 22 - I took Josiah on a mother/son date to Sweet Bee tonight; and when we got home, he said, "Can I hug you?" Of course! I'm not one to turn down hugs from my boys. :) Then he sighed happily and said, "Thanks for the wonderful date." As much as he loves sword fighting, Star Wars, and being The Defender of the Helpless, he also has such a tender heart. Some blessed girl is going to get a treasure in him someday!! :)

Jan. 21 - On our way home from dropping Josiah off at the barbershop (he hangs out with Jeff and sweeps the hair off the floor), we were talking about grandparents. The subject of Grandpa Fisher came up; and when I told Tobin that he had died before Tobin was born, Tobin said tearfully, "When can we get a new Grandpa Fisher?" Well, dear boy, he's not exactly replaceable!


Jan. 21 - I didn't anticipate that mopping ONE BATHROOM would necessitate a 15-minute recovery period on the couch, but that seems to be the case. If 11 more weeks pass and I'm eager to bring on labor, I'll know what to do: grab the mop. If just mopping a bathroom brought on so many Braxton Hicks contractions, surely mopping a whole kitchen would bring on real labor!! :)

Jan. 20 - What's making me smile right now? Baby Girl's hiccups. Have I mentioned recently that I love being pregnant?? Jeff, please remind me of this tonight when I can barely walk because of the pain in my lower back. ;-)

Jan. 19 - ‎"I love you, Mom. Thanks for being patient today," Josiah said to me as he kissed me goodnight a little bit ago. Oh my. Not only does he know how to melt my heart, but he also (unknowingly, I'm sure) knows how to convict me! I want to cry and promise that tomorrow, I'll try to be even more patient. Thank God that when our failures as parents are so glaringly obvious to us, our children are somehow merciful to us.

Jan. 14 - "Mommy?" Tobin's voice quavered through the darkness to me just now. Why is he still awake? I wondered. "I can't sleep because my pretend dog Molly keeps barking," he called out. Ah! Well, that explains it. Those pretend dogs sure can make sleeping difficult. ;-)


Jan. 13 - It really is the little things, ya know, that either bring great joy or nearly drive a person mad. Right now I'm teetering towards insanity. The culprit? Ants. Carpenter ants, I guess they are. They've invaded the upstairs, starting in Josiah and David's room. While researching how to get rid of them, I read something to the effect of, "Most exterminators agree that carpenter ants are the hardest pest to get rid of." Great. Even in this, I must be thankful.


Jan. 11 - Listening to rain fall on the roof and knowing that I don't have to go anywhere but can stay safely at home with the ones I love - ah! This has got to be one of the coziest feelings in the world.


Jan. 7 - Josiah asked me recently, "Why'd you get married so late?" Ha! I didn't realize getting married at age 21--three weeks after my college graduation--qualified as "late." Apparently he's planning to get married at age 19??? ;-)


Jan. 4 - Tonight in his prayer before bedtime, Shav thanked God for something really profound: the zipper on his sleeper. :)

Jan. 4 - I took the two little ones to town to run errands this morning and came home to discover that Jeff had made delicious chocolate chip cookies from scratch. He's a good man, that one. ;-)

OK, I have got to end this post; this is ridiculously long!  But one last picture from this evening...a quiet, peaceful evening at home (not all evenings at home are peaceful!)...Grandma reading to Tobin and Shav, Grandpa bending over a puzzle that Jeff and Josiah were also working on.  David was playing a game on the computer, and I was enjoying the time to finish the supper dishes without distractions.

The boys all went to bed peacefully tonight; and although we're finishing January, not December, it almost seems right to sing "Silent Night, Holy Night"!  :)

It was a good way to end a month.

And now February is here, with a new blog look, a new calendar page, and 29 sparkling days waiting to be filled!  Plus, a little holiday called Valentine's Day...  ;-)