Yesterday and Today

Yesterday was the end of year picnic with our home school program. Upon returning home Elisabeth brought me a package that contained my repaired camera!!! Yay for the camera repaired under warranty.
Therefore, I started snapping pictures.



Today started with cloud cover, I was thankful because the house is looking a little neglected. Today is work day around the old homestead. My arms also need a break, I get a rash every year when we get our first hot spell as I spend as much time as possible out in the sun. Today I am giving my arms a break and working inside.
My husband is replacing some broken tiles

The girls were sewing for fun. Judith made jorts (jean shorts).


Elisabeth and Benjamin came up with a sewing project but I have not seen the finished product.

Levi and I finished up the boys’ room. The floor is clear and the closet is neat and the shelves and toy bins are organized, the dressers are clear. Benjamin’s clothes have been changed from winter to summer and from a smaller size to a larger size. Whew! Glad that is over.

Daddy took a work break to read a book to Benjamin.

We are slowly getting the garden in, tomatoes are in the makeshift green house.

Carrots, onions, lettuce and spinach have been planted.

Today I said yes

Today would have been an easy day to work in the house and in the yard with cleaning and what not.
But I said yes to:
• a last minute gathering with friends
• a muddy ride in the go kart
• jumping on the trampoline with the crew

You see, I am usually the no Mom. No is easy. No is safe. No usually means no mud. No means I watch.

Today a second friend, sister in Christ, and fellow church member went home to heaven. Two dear friends, two wives, two mothers, two cancers, three month time span.

Today I am sad for self, the family and friends.  But I am not sad for Lisa because she became whole today, she went home today, she met her Savior today. Lisa left behind an example of witnessing and proclaiming how great our God is. Until the end, God was her strength and Salvation.

So, today I began by getting muddy by saying yes to living, enjoying life and the people in this life with me. I was able to let some of the teen girls at church see me outside of four walls and Sunday best. May my Blessings remember today as the day Mom said yes to fun along with them.  May that build strong relationships with my Blessings and those that grow alongside them.

So, here I am mud and all. Living everyday from today forward because we know not what tomorrow brings.

May 17

Welcome to May 17th, the day I build a fire to warm up the house while snow is flurrying around outside.
Usually my husband builds fires at night just to keep the boiler from coming on to save on heating fuel costs. That usually stops around the first week of May. Not this year. Many have started calling this Macember.
This is the type of weather that really gets me down. Dreary yet light outside and chilly. I know that December-February will be dark and cold.  This gives me SAD more than winter. Fortunately,  the forecast says 60° next week. Here's to hopping they got that one right since they got this one correct.
Anyone for baseball tomorrow? Yep the baseball playing Blessings are scheduled to play tomorrow.
In other news, wacky storm systems somewhere have caused an influx of migratory birds that normally do not stop here  to stop in on our neck of the woods. And I guess there are crazy numbers and a variety of species. I wondered what was going on when I saw some snipe shore birds hanging around our puddles that I have not seen in our yard before.
Now, where's my parka, mittens and wool hat? I'm off to watch baseball or look for birds tomorrow.

Summer????

Tonight at 6pm Levi had his first baseball practice, the temperature was a balmy 60°F. Here in the interior of Alaska we just seem to go on no matter what. Snow was on the field last week and there is still a little standing water at home plate but they are working around that.
Benjamin rode his bike and I walked on the track at the next field over and we observed pine cones.

Weather

Not the weather I would choose but the weather we have. I wore a hat when I walked the dog.
No laundry on the line today.

Laundry outside!!

Today was the day that I hung a load of laundry on the clothes line. I have on my work capris and my husband and I are tackling a couple of spring cleaning projects. Ahh, a very good day. To top it off, I am going out to dinner with a friend.

There Is No Formula

 

There is no perfect formula for life, each person is an individual, every.single.one.of.us. So, how can there be a perfect, one-size fits all formula for life? Wouldn't life be so much easier if there was a one-size fits all formula? What about a do and don't checklist for living? How easy would that be for most people? 

Books are where I got into trouble. Books though are just books, the exception is The Word of God. Years ago, my favoritest Titus 2 mentor introduced me to the saying, "eat the fish and spit out the bones" in reference to books. That saying has stuck with me as I have grown over the years. 

In the past I would take a book, say a parenting book, and ingest the entire book, bones and all. And I choked. Yet, I continued to partake and choke on the same bones again and again. I attempted to fit myself (and my family) into the formula created by the author. Instead of taking the parts that were helpful, doable, applicable to life as was needed for that time, I choked. Yes, I am hard-headed and a slow learner.

I look at this two ways from hindsight. Because of my slow learning curve, I really learned my lesson and have had my eyes opened to discern. The second, those immature, heels dug in days make me appreciate God's Word, the Truth, the knowledge that I do not have to find a formula. Oh the blessings of God's grace, the character of God. God's Word is my guide.

Spontaneous self-directed work

I love it when my little guy finds his own way to work with paper, scissor, glue and markers. Today he made a dinosaur, I can't see it but I believe him.
Yes, there is an animal hanging on the wall. This one is a black wolf, my husband kept him from back in his trapping days because black wolves aren't common.

Turning point

Today seems to be a turning point in our weather, finally. I keep seeing people on facebook post that Fairbanks has not seen temperatures above 50° in 215 days. Oh the agony.
But the snow is melting and we can see more and more of our yard every day. Benjamin and I took Emmy for a walk after lunch and we only wore water boots and light jackets, I will finally be packing the bunny boots away for the summer. And, I  heard a flying insect fly past my head. 'Twas not a mosquito though. Tomorrow I will begin washing winter gear and putting the heavy duty stuff away for a few months. We still keep hats and thin gloves because we occasionally need those when we go fishing.

Teacher Appreciation Day

I saw on facebook that today is Teacher Appreciation Day. I appreciated myself by taking a nap. I was exhausted. Two late nights followed by early out of the house mornings left me needing a nap. Thank you to whomever created Teacher Appreciation Day.
Supposedly, my students appreciate me every day, or so they say.

The Past Week

What a week! Last Monday I attended day one of a two day curriculum fair in town. There were two speakers that I enjoyed most, Tom Clark and the fantastic Debbie Strayer and Jim Weiss, storyteller was there as well. In fact, his wife gave Judith one of his cds on the second day of the fair. She was thrilled!

I bought the core components of our curriculum for next year while at the fair. I came home and gave everything a look see. Maybe the snowflake pajama pants have something to do with the continuing snow?  

Wednesday I was glad to be home with my crew and back to our normal school day at HOME!

Elisabeth had a dental procedure on Thursday, we kept busy in the waiting room.

Just a little numb.

I finally gave Benjamin a haircut.

Levi avoids pictures, I take them anyway.

We planted seeds.

The garden is a mess but at least the snow is almost gone, I think the crew is outside clearing and cleaning up this spot as I type.

Elisabeth participated in a piano festival on Saturday, she received a silver medal

And, that brings us to today. The local used curriculum sale day.
I made a few dollars and found a couple of neat things for Benjamin.

Levi and the boys from Leadership Team selling used curriculum for a fundraiser for their Leadership Team.

I loved this tap board I found for Benjamin and so does he.

Benjamin was such a trooper today inside at the curriculum sale, he kept going between my table and the table the older three were working and we played a game and he played with my phone and he had lunch because he “looked” hungry. His new phrase which I happen to enjoy greatly. He came home and got his muddy buddy boots on and hopped on his bike and then he threw some rocks. That boy loves being outside!



The rest of the week is back to normal, for which I am abundantly thrilled.

Starting seeds

I have not been very successful at starting vegetables from seed in the past. Therefore we have bought plants at the greenhouse.  I think I tried to over think and be too formal about the whole process. I mean, I am sure my grand parents did not buy seed starting kits back in the day. They probably planted directly in the ground but they lived in Kentucky and I in Alaska, gardening here is whole other story.
Enter Pinterest and a plethora of gardening pins. I am giving this milk jug greenhouse method a whirl and praying for success in growing plants.  I like the thought of being able to set these jugs outside on warm, sunny days. If we ever have warm and sunny days.  I forgot to buy celery seeds so I may have to pick those up as olants at the greenhouse when I buy tomato plants. And I want to grow sunflowers but I bought no sunflower seeds.