Tired Post

It is 11:08 PM, and I promised myself I would blog tonight, so here I am. I really wanted to watch something on Netflix, but the site is not cooperating. I'd really like to blog more, and I'm thinking that my posts might start to be more of the "stream of consciousness" or "dear diary" variety. Maybe just the "here's what we did today" journal. I want to remember stuff, I just don't have a lot of time for formulating cute posts or uploading (forget editing!) photos. So, here's my trial run:

Today is Saturday, October 30th.

In the kitchen- Turkey stock has been simmering all day. Just minutes ago, I strained the finished product and scalded my fingers picking hot meat of the bones. Glamorous, I tell you ;). We ate wheat/flax/coconut oil pancakes at breakfast with some beet/apple juice. And for lunch, I splurged on Chipotle. Did you know that Chipotle has very affordable, large, fairly nutritious kids meals starting at $2.50. My favorite chain restaurant has just gotten better!
Dinner consisted of fruit/spinach/yogurt/honey smoothies and old fashioned popcorn. The girls adore that menu, and I appreciate the efficiency of it.

Today I am creating- Also in the kitchen today, three very impressive jack o lanterns, if I do say so myself :). My sister and her son spent the night yesterday and most of the day with us today. We had a lot of fun scooping the pumpkin guts, trying to come up with a good design, then meticulously carving each wacky face. They are wacky, but I'll have to reveal the photos another time.

I am pondering- I have a strong internal desire for rhythm and beauty in this life. I know I am longing for another life, the life to come. But how can I bring more rhythm and beauty to this life, the here and now?

Still yearning to home school... I love to teach and learn together. Will that desire ever subside, or is it God directed?

Out my window- The invigorating days of Autumn are coming to a close, leaving the gray, almost-winter days. Leaves are mostly off the trees now, the vibrant hews raked and mulched and locked away inside garbage receptacles unjustly labeled "lawn waste". The nip in the air is starting to make me uncomfortable outside, and the house feels extra toasty after any amount of time in the fresh. I finished cutting back perennials today and raked crispy leaves over the flower beds. Yanked out the tomato plants that finally froze to death last week. I don't know where all the sand from the sandbox disappeared to you this fall, but there was a lot of organic matter to sweep off the patio today! We still have piles of winter squash and pie pumpkins, but I moved them inside the garage to keep a bit longer. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will clean out the play area and stack all the hideous plastic outdoor toys against the fence until the spring when we burst outside on the first 40 degree day.

About the children- Esther had a good day today, the first in several hard days. She might be teething? Entering some new stage or developing an unseen skill? I am hopeful for a cheerful child again tomorrow.

Eva also had a good day today. After a few weeks of defiant and chaotic behavior, a very firm discipline and heart to heart with her mother seemed to have it's desired effect. I am hopeful for lasting heart change for my oldest.

Hope is a ray of sunshine lately. My eager companion and helper, asking many questions to make sense of her world and inviting me to see through pint-sized eyes. She is finally out of a tantrum stage; this week she was the relational motor oil that kept us all smiling and together.

Eva secretly discovered the Halloween goodies to be given to trick or treaters, and devoured 10 Fruit by the Foot packages behind the couch in the basement last night. The evidence was revealed this morning, so there was no movie at the library today and there will be no trick or treating tomorrow. I don't feel disappointed one bit, and she seems quietly content to have been fairly corrected. Hope is blissfully ignorant that her rights were revoked, hand me down style :).

On the road- Eric is at a men's retreat with my dad and brother in law this weekend. He is in the wilderness, but still uploading Facebook posts from his new Droid. Juxtaposition. We're eager to see him tomorrow evening!

I'm thinking- that I should fall asleep now. And that I like clearing my brain with this journal like endeavor. Good night.