What a day -

Wow! Who would think that we would be at 70+ degrees on October 30th? This weather is amazing and we have truly had a beautiful, extended fall. I love this time of year and wish it would extend even longer. But, to everything there is a season, and I'm just glad the season is autumn!

Brad was able to get out and do some pheasant hunting today while we took an afternoon fieldtrip to the outdoor campus and looked at all of God's creation. We looked for seeds and how they are dispersed and carried, and then viewed the wetlands, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, crunched through the leaves, and ended up at the park. Short of the noisy construction equipment at the park, it was a beautiful afternoon.

Plans for the weekend include going to a fall festival party tomorrow night, a marriage seminar simulcast on Saturday, and church on Sunday. Still need to get to some more apples and wrap up some outside work. Sounds like the weather will be perfect through it all...

No need for the electric blanket tonight!

Blessings!

Small visitors..

How do you judge when the weather is getting colder? How come I have the distinct feeling that our cats are merely mooching off of us for food? Quite simply, because we have some extra, small, uninvited visitors in our house. I use the plural sense but I am sincerely hoping it should be singular. Found some "evidence" in the back hallway yesterday of some potential invaders, and Brad set out two traps to see if we were right in the assumption. Yep, sure enough, this morning a small little mouse (or so I was told) was in one of the traps. Small little fella, which makes me think he has (unfortunately) some relatives around. So, in typical homeschooling fashion, we had to use the catch as a learning opportunity. (No, we didn't dissect it!)

First, a lesson on male/female roles in society - or at least OUR society: "Boys, men are the ones who take mice out of mousetraps and throw them in the garbage."

Then, on to problem solving: "I don't want you to touch it, so figure out a way to get it into the outside garbage bin without touching it. Here's a bag."

By golly, they found a way. More importantly, I didn't see it, touch it, or have it permanently ingrained into my long term memory.

Obviously our outdoor cats are NOT earning their keep, but then again, I'm not sure they ever did. :) We're good for feeding them, petting them, and providing a nice warm bed in the winter. They're good for, hmmm....I'm not sure. Certainly not pest control.

But, life would be different if Angel and Beauty weren't around. I'll take the stance that if they weren't around, we'd have even MORE mice. And, certainly, we have plenty the way it is now. ONE is way too many in my book.

Off to reset the traps...oh, who am I kidding. Off to show the boys how to reset the traps...

Still the rain comes...

Well, actually, it has stopped for the time being. We are well over two inches in the past couple of days, so that is wonderful moisture to have entering into the winter! I'm just glad it came in the form of rain, not snow!

Unfortunately, all that rain presented a problem. We were in the basement last night when JD said he heard a drip. Sure enough, in one part of our basement water was dripping out of the light socket. That is never good! After further investigation to find the source, we realized that two of our outside windows have a seal that must be leaking and the circumstances (wind direction, rain) were just right to have the rain drip through the edges, run in and filter down between the outside wall and the sheet rock, and puddle up under the WOOD floor. AARGH! This obviously had been going on the whole day as the wood floor on our main level is slightly buckled and curling from the water seepage. So, now it is 11:00pm and we're trying to figure out how to stop the water from coming in. It soaks a towel in about 2 hours (actually two towels - one for each window) so I'm back to feeling like I have a newborn as I get up every couple of hours to switch out the towels to keep the wetness off the windowsills. Thankfully, the rain has stopped for now and everything is slowly drying up. But, the damage to the floors is probably done, and we are most likely going to have to replace those windows as they face north and will continue to get ransacked.

So, despite all that, Brad managed to get up this morning a bit after 4am to head up to the bible school in Minneapolis with some people from church. Full day bus trip (we're calling it a pilgrimage since we're studying colonial America) but at least he got to sleep a bit when they left at 5am. He'll be back by 6pm and then my guess is that we'll have an early bedtime tonight after last night's fiasco!

Despite all the issues, I'm thankful we have a roof over our head to protect us, and the opportunity to be home to teach our children each day thanks to Brad's business and dedication. Things can change so quickly in this economy - a close friend's husband lost his job this week for the second time in two years and it just goes to show that you never know when things will change. Makes us even more thankful for what we have right now. It's so easy to complain, but I'm trying to do better with that. :)

On that note, may God bless your day...

A rainy day...

Today is one of those days that all you want to do is sleep in! I am tempted to chuck the whole day of school in order to have everyone curl up with a good book and read the day away. Hopefully, we can progress through our day in a pretty quick manner so we can spend some reading time this afternoon.

Brad and I were able to get away yesterday for a date! Wow - we haven't been to a movie together that hasn't involved 3 kiddos since I can't remember when! We actually went to the regular movie theatre, and ended up paying as much for popcorn as we did for our matinee tickets. But, it was super fun to just be together and the movie "Fireproof" was amazing. What a powerful message about marriage and we felt it spoke to the Gospel message very clearly and with great impact. We have a number of people we would like to bring to the movie, but, unfortunately, it is only here until Thursday. Maybe it will end up being held over yet another week so we can have that opportunity.

Well, off to school for the day. Got my cup of coffee steaming and ready to go - JD is first up with math and we're doing reciprocals today.

May God bless your day!

My first daybook entry

Wow, this is exciting! I have wanted to create a blog for quite some time and I'm finally getting around to doing it. My plan is to just record things here that I want to remember, share information with others, and hopefully provide some sort of solace and support to other like-minded women and friends. I've had a desire to continue to simplify our life, and I hope you can travel the journey with me as I continue to seek the Lord's guidance for raising our family, being a good wife, and finding His will in our daily path. So, to start it out, here is my first daybook entry!

Outside my window...it is dark as I have been busy all day.

I am thinking...about how I can better use my time - how to be more efficient.

From the learning rooms...nothing right now as all kiddos are in bed, but I have lesson plans to do yet for tomorrow

I am thankful for...the opportunity to be home with my kids. My prayer is that I use it to its fullest potential each and every day.

From the kitchen...still a few dishes left in the dishwater to wash. We had "sticky chicken" in the crockpot tonight and it really turned out yummy!

I am wearing...a quilted flannel shirt, white long sleeved tee, comfy blue jeans, and socks

I am reading...Love and Respect

I am hoping...that my dh and I can get to the movie "Fireproof" tomorrow

I am creating...this blog!!

I am hearing...the drone of this ol' laptop as it is running pretty hard right now

Around the house...I see clothes to be boxed up for my niece, lots of papers to be dealt with on my desk

One of my favorite things...is going up to bed and reading in my nice warm quilts

A few plans for the rest of the week...not to be obsessed with completing and perfecting this blog, getting the three large buckets of apples made into applesauce, picking the rest of the peppers, and pulling the tomatoes from the garden