Rainy Tuesday Morning

I called the kids up to get started on our day and Jack said, "Oh Mom- why don't you just enjoy another cup of coffee and relax?  We're fine..."
Haha.  I'm sure they are!
But I did make a cup of half-caff and here I sit.
10 minutes for a quick blog catch-up.
I love, love this rainy stormy morning.  Boy it is pouring!  (Although I am thankful we're not having the tornadoes that part of the country is.)
*Looking forward to our prayer and reading time this morning.  Praying with the kids is a gift- hearing them pray for the local pregnancy center, for friends bringing home a little boy from Africa, for some missionary kids headed to Japan with their family, for good attitudes during school. Last night,  Lucy prayed for Jack at Boy Scouts and said, "Even though there are lots of Boy Scouts there, You are there, too.  So be with Jack."  Sweetness.
*Our read-aloud right now is a fun little book called The World According to Humphrey.  So cute.  Humphrey is a hamster and tells the story of being a classroom pet from his perspective.
*It might take a while to catch up on pictures but here are a few:

 
The only Easter picture we took- how did I let that happen??

The older kids and I went over to preschool before Easter and hid close to 400 eggs on the playground- that was a lot of fun!  It took the preschoolers about 3 minutes to gather them all up!

Kayla's sewing teacher/friend had her baby!  Sweet little Anna.

Casting and Baseball

Sam got a fishing pole for his birthday.  In this nice weather he's been out practicing his casting.  Wednesday it seemed like he flung that pole for hours.

 

As the day wore on, the same day of his first baseball practice, I could tell something was bothering him.
"Mom, I'm nervous about tonight."
He put his head on my shoulder and was quiet.
And then, you know it was one of those perfect moments.  Like it was set-up.  Perfectly.
"Hey Sam.  What have you been out doing all afternoon?"
"Casting."
"Yes!  And do you know God mentions casting in the Bible?  In 1 Peter he says, 'Cast your cares on Him, because He cares for you."

 

We talked for just a few minutes about that then he said, "Will you pray for me?"
So I did.
I'd love to say baseball went great that night.  It didn't.  It was hard to get out on the field.  But I'm hoping that the next time he practices his casting, he'll remember that verse.
That maybe, as he swings out that pole, he might remember to cast his worry with it.  A little bit at a time.
Thankful for him and the opportunity.

Baby Sewing Projects

A special friend is having a baby girl in just a couple of weeks. This special friend happens to be the one who has been spending time helping Kayla learn to sew.   Kayla and I decided to make a baby blanket.  She did most of the work.  It was a lot of fun!

She really likes to iron.

A little measuring

Sewing with her favorite stitch- the zigzag

And voila!

She also worked on a "taggy" for another sweet little girl who will be born soon as well.

Thursday Afternoon

*On Monday, Sammy sneezed 59 times.  His count. not mine,but  I think he was pretty close.
On Tuesday he didn't even have a sniffle.  Strange.
*On Friday (I think), the power company guys were working in front of our house.  Lucy opened the front door and yelled, "Hey Mister!!  Get out of our driveway!!!"  Wow.  All the kids cracked up while I tried my best to get to her before she yelled anything else at the unsuspecting workers.
*Today we did some "domestic science" and cleaned up the basement after math.  It was really bad.  Terrible.  It's amazing how much work you can get out of kids when you offer cleaning the basement or doing more school work.  I feel better just knowing we can walk down there without hurting ourselves now. 
I would like to blame all the mess on all the kids but today while we were in Essentials class, I remembered my locker in high school.  Things usually fell out when I opened it.  I also remember my notebooks being stuffed with papers and my elementary school desk being full of trash.  And yes, I remember those kids whose desks were NOT garbage cans.  So...maybe the apples didn't fall far from this tree?  LOL.
If neatness comes easily to you, be thankful!

Our "selfie" taken yesterday when it was warm and sunny and I didn't care one bit about cleaning the house! 

Spring Reading

Is it me or does warm, spring weather make everyone a little happier?
We just might make it through this school year!  I think everyone worked a little faster and a little earlier(and a little more cheerfully)  this morning so that we could spend time outside.  We brought some work out and read aloud in the backyard during lunch.  Our current read aloud is The Old Meadow by George Selden.  He wrote Cricket in Times Square , and Chester Cricket from that book is also in this one.  I've never read The Old Meadow before but I really like it.  It's full of animals, relationships, good imagery, and great one-liners. 
Some other books we're reading:

 

Kayla is reading Anne of Green Gables.  I'm so glad she's enjoying this.  It's another one I never read as a kid but it's a treasure. 

Jack is very into one of Brian's books about Lewis and Clark, called Undaunted Courage.  I admit I'm a little surprised- this is no easy read!  More power to him.

Sammy and Lucy have discovered Tomie DePaola's  "Strega Nona" books.  I don't know why we never read those before but they've been lots of fun.

I have several books in my stack right now.  I just finished The Housekeeper and the Professor.  Loved it.  And if you are a math person, you will enjoy it even more.  It's fairly short and it's very sweet.
Hoping to start The Glass Castle next.
Brian ordered a little devotional for me called Joy, a Godly Woman's Adornment by Lydia Brownback.  This has been great so far.  Just two or three pages per chapter and full of wisdom.  I have underlined a lot already.  A favorite quote (or two):
"And Jesus said that those who lose their lives-all the earthly things they lean on for happiness and security- will find what they have been looking for all along.  God will see to that."
and
"The extent of joy we know is the measure of how sold out we are."