Carving out the Time

These days, I'm not setting aside much (or more accurately, any) time for blogging--not because I don't want to or because I haven't taken any pictures or because I ran out of things to say (ha!), but because I still feel very much like I'm in catch-up mode.  During the holidays, I let some things slide--laundry, household organization, paperwork, to name a few!--and I don't regret that too much because that's just what you have to do sometimes!  But now what I just have to do is devote more time to getting on top of these areas again.  (Not that I ever really feel on top of them, but at least sometimes I'm further up the hill than I am now...)  :)

Meanwhile, the big event of this week is Tobin's 7th birthday!  We celebrated early, but will do a few extra things to make this day, his actual birthday, special, too.  We love him so much!!  :)

Not-Quite Wordless Not-Quite-Wednesday {Jed & Willow, Together}

If I had not fallen asleep on the couch last night, I would have posted these pictures as my Wordless Wednesday post and left it at that.  Alas, the combination of warm woodstove and cozy couch on a bitterly cold winter night did me in; and I succumbed to sleep much earlier than I normally do.  When I awoke several hours later, I could have done this post, I suppose; but...well...I didn't.  So be it.  :)

These pictures were from late December, by the way.  We do not, in fact, still have our Christmas tree up.  :)

Also by the way, I am strongly suspecting that Willow is not a mix of Australian Shepherd and Great Dane, as we originally thought.  A search on Google images for that mix doesn't show anything that really looks like her, in my opinion.  But type in "Australian shepherd bluetick coonhound mix" and see what you think.  ;-)

But what do I know?!  :)

I Should Mention the Snow

Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows that when it comes to snow, I'm a HUGE fan, delighting in it every time we get some.  In my opinion, it's really impossible for us to ever get TOO much snow.  I love it THAT much.  :)

And it snowed today.

Not much, really.  Maybe an inch in some places?  A half-inch in others?  I'm not sure, but I do know that it all fell after I went to bed late last night--when I last took Willow out, there wasn't a drop of precipitation falling--and before I got up this morning.  I didn't even get to watch it snowing!  

That's the only negative about this particular snow experience, however; all the rest of it was just fine.  :)

But the best part?  Moriah got to eat snow.

This girl LOVES to eat snow.  She will often say "eat snow" in her funny little voice that I can't imitate but that big brother David has down to a T.  The other day, I was telling her that Josiah loves her so much (a short time before this, he had been making her laugh), and then asking her if she loved him.  "No," she was firm about it.  "Moriah loves snow!"

OK then!

The Little Miss got snow today.  

Only, this snow was brought inside and served up in a bowl.  Much, much easier than getting a two-year-old bundled up to go outside in it, and much, much safer than letting her indiscriminately find snow to eat from the ground, which would have resulted in quite the dietary intake of things like grass, dirt, leaves, and so on.

Happiness in the small things.  :)

A Big Step for My Littlest Scholar

Kindergarten is pretty relaxed here in our homeschool, but I've discovered through the years that all of my children have been thrilled to begin "real" school work when they were this age.  Their enthusiasm for certain kinds of school work noticeably declines as they get older.  ;-)  (And then, being homeschoolers, we have the privilege of trying different things to keep the love of learning--which is the point of education--alive and well.  Sometimes--often?--that means throwing workbooks out the window.)  But for a five-year-old, to sit down with a brand new workbook, a newly-sharpened pencil, and Mom nearby as a teacher/cheerleader, is tremendously exciting.  :)

Such was the case for Shav today.  This afternoon I realized I had some spare time with nothing urgent pressing on my mind.  "Shav," I asked, "would you like to begin your kindergarten math book today?"

He lit up.  :)

Previously we had done some pages in a different numbers book, but this particular math book--the official one--had been sitting on his shelf in our homeschool bookshelf for quite a while, untouched.  We had done other learning activities together during the first half of this school year, but I hadn't been in a rush to start his math book.  I guess I was feeling ambitious today though.  Must be the energy rush that's lingering from the start of a new year!  :)

 The first pages in his book were, of course, completely easy for him, so we went ahead and did five lessons.

 He looks so serious in these pictures!

 But he was happy...

 ...and so was I.  :)

May this be the beginning of a long and happy relationship between Shav and math!  :)

The Point of the Windows

When Jeff got a wild hair and cut out two holes in the wall between our kitchen and living room four and a half years ago, the benefit wasn't just so we would have more natural light in the kitchen.

Neither was it so David would have a fun place to sit and read.

Neither was it so I would have a ledge on which to display some fall decorations or our Christmas nutcrackers.

Oh, all of those things are wonderful, to be sure!  But there's another advantage to having those holes in the wall.

It's this...

 I can quickly and quietly sneak peeks through them into the living room to see what's going on...

...and sometimes I spot a daddy reading Christmas books to his little girl on a Sunday afternoon.

That's the kind of thing I never get tired of seeing when I look through these windows!  :)

Shav Has a Castle

During one of my Christmas shopping trips in mid-December, I spotted a wooden castle that I was SURE Shav would LOVE.  But the price seemed high to me, and I ended up walking away without getting it.

 I couldn't get it out of my mind, however; and when I returned to that store some days later to help Josiah do some shopping for his siblings, I pointed the castle out to him.

 When he agreed to contribute some money towards it (with the rest coming from me...which is to say, coming from Jeff!) ;-) and to use that as his gift for Shav, it was an easy decision.  We would get the castle.

 I thought Shav would be eager to paint it, since he often clamors to be allowed to paint something.

 But so far, he hasn't touched a paintbrush to it.

 He's been too busy using it for other things.  Battles and such, you know.  Serious stuff.   ;-)

It's so gratifying to see him playing with it, and I expect he'll have many more happy hours with it.  And who knows?  Maybe someday, he'll even get around to painting it.  :)

Notes from the New Year

New Year's Eve was different for us than it ever had been before: Jeff wasn't here.

He was on duty as a police officer downtown, making sure that the celebration there stayed safe for everyone; and we were at home, missing him.  But even though we wished he could have been here, we still had fun.  :)

Sweet Moriah got tucked into bed at the usual time, but the boys all got to stay up until midnight.  They all made it but one.  Shav fell asleep as we watched The Secret Garden (I watched with one eye and worked on that looooong blog post with my other eye - ha!); and shortly before midnight, I tried to wake him up so he could go outside with his brothers and bang pots and pans and shout "Happy new year!"  But he was so completely out-of-it--and grumpy as a bear wakened early from hibernation--that he couldn't manage to rouse himself and participate.  That was a bummer.

However, this morning when Shav was expressing his dismay to Jeff that he missed that opportunity, Jeff came up with the terrific idea for Shav to get a pan and a lid and go upstairs with Jeff to the boys' rooms so they could be an alarm clock for David and Tobin who were still sleeping.  I thought it was hysterical.  :)  I love Jeff for the way his mind works differently than mine and the creative solutions he finds to parenting dilemmas.  I would have talked with Shav about how I understood his disappointment at not being awake at midnight and how, yes, it was sad that he didn't get to bang pots and pans and that maybe tonight he could go outside and do it, a day late.  I would have hugged Shav and maybe rocked with him and tried to ease his pain.  But Jeff?  His plan was way different from mine.  Taking revenge (harmless, of course!) on your brothers is a pretty fun way to start the new year, and it certainly made a new memory for us!  I can easily imagine my boys sitting around when they're in their 40s, saying, "Do you remember that year when Dad told Shav to come into our rooms early on New Year's Day and bang a pot to wake us up because he didn't get to do it the night before?"  :)

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New Year's Day was the same as it's been before: I went to a Harmonia Sacra singing in the evening.  :)

It's a tradition that I love--and appreciate Jeff for letting me continue it!  After all, he's the one who stays at home, takes care of the younger children, and usually does some work to help clean up in the kitchen.  It's a true gift he gives me to have that time away!

This year, Josiah and David went along, and my parents did, too.  It was a delight to walk in and see some friends that we hadn't seen for quite a long time since they are now living in Puerto Rico.  It was also fun to see some other choristers from the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir there.  :)

Unlike the past six years, I wasn't called on to lead a song; but towards the end, an invitation was given for anyone who wanted to lead to come forward and do so.  David, who was sitting right beside me and who very helpfully found the right page in the songbook each time a new song was announced, nudged me hard and made sure I knew that he thought I'd better get up there!  So I did.  :)

Sometimes at those singings, I wish I could just freeze time.  I wish I could record the music and let it continue to wash over me, in all its power and intensity, long after the evening was over.  I wish I could picture the faces of the singers, so diverse in their backgrounds and worship practices, long after they had all departed.

Sometimes I think that it would be glorious if the angels could be singing Dedication Anthem (AKA 606, or 118, or The Mennonite National Anthem) when I enter the gates of heaven.

Sometimes I feel like I can't even stay on the ground any longer, and I'll have to float away, carried aloft by the majesty of the music.

Yes, tonight was one of those nights.  :)

After it was over, we stayed to chat with some people, including the row of black-coated men behind us.  To be honest, I wondered what they thought of me, a woman, leading a song, since in their church services, they only use male songleaders; but they were very kind and complimentary and told me they appreciated my leading and they could tell that I really enjoyed singing and they thought Josiah and David did so well, etc.  As they pieced together who I am based on who my dad is and where I live and who my next-door neighbors are, one of them said, "Was your husband the one who helped Doug...?" and his voice trailed off.  I knew what he was talking about.  The robbery.  Yes, Jeff was the one who rescued our neighbor from a bad, dangerous situation.  In the tight-knit Mennonite community here in our county, that kind of action will win a man fans for life; and it was obvious the men sitting in the pew behind me tonight were big Jeff Fisher fans.  :)

As we were walking out of the church building, there were two horse-and-buggies leaving from the parking lot; and one of them had bells on the harness of the horse--gorgeous sleigh bells that rang out beautifully through the crisp night air.  For a moment, I thought I was back with Almanzo and Laura in De Smet, South Dakota!  ;-)  I was glad to get into my minivan and turn on the heat, but I also wistfully thought that those in a buggy with bells had a better ride home than I did tonight!  :)

It was the perfect way to spend the first evening of 2015.  :)