Living Seasonally
It’s the same every year, it feels like Fall will never get here. Then once it finally arrives, it feels just like Summer. But I love it, that transitioning into this season. I love that all my favorite church days are on the horizon, I love that the days will soon have a chill in the air, I love that the trees are about to do what they do. I put out the pumpkins my babies bring home to me and soak it all in. Let the Fall begin!
Giving Thanks
For family who tends to one another in time of need.
For babies who are getting older and finding fun off in the woods.
For 6 note duets of violin and clarinet. Will my home really be filled with the sweet sounds of real music someday?
For health and preservation in the midst of sickness.
For the joy my children find in one another….most of the time.
Thinking Deeply
Martin Luther
But if God comes and hangs a weight on us, making us weighty and heavy, then it is manifest to the devil and to all humankind that the power of God is at work. Thus god manifests his glory and majesty in our weakness.
Turning Pages
A few weeks ago after the mention by my friend Katy I picked up Giants in the Earth. I’m enjoying this one about a Norwegian immigrant family’s experience into the frontier of the Dakota territory, especially after having driven across the state of South Dakota this Summer, seeing it’s expansive prairie, the desolate places and the beauty of it all. Wow. What a look into what that life must have been like.
Establishing Rhythm
Gah. It sure feels like our days will for ever and ever after always be one thing after another. I thought life was busy when everyone was home and in diapers. I now know that was a different kind of busy and I see it will get more intense.
I have a routine I follow with the 3 babies home during the day. Our evenings are “routined” as well but even so there is a never ending something going on. At least it’s all mostly structured, predictable and manageable. In a nutshell, right now our weeks look this way:
Monday-Weekly cleaning after school. Everyone tidies and cleans their Zone. Music practice and homework is done. Supper together.
Tuesday– Everyone attends dance practice. Music practice or homework is done. Supper together.
Wednesday – MidWeek for young kids and Catechism classes for Older kids. Music practice is done. Supper at church.
Thursday – Piano lessons after school for 4 kids. Supper together. Reading and relaxing or homework.
Friday – Music practice is done. Supper together. Relaxing.
Weekends – Something is usually going on. Lily bakes something and we prepare for the next week.
And it’s all sprinkled with doctors appointments, camping trips, birthday parties, date nights, hosting guests for meals…all the stuff of life. Shew.
Cultivating Simplicity
Well, this one deserves it’s own blog post or series of posts I’m sure. My “Back Thener” Experiment Project of 2019 AKA Minimizing THE STUFF. I never would have described myself as a minimalist but for how many years have I thought “It would be nice to not have all this stuff anymore.” I can kind of handle all the people but People + Stuff? That’s harder. People + LOTS of stuff? I just can’t anymore.
My rambling on will need fleshing out someday in a post but in summary I read some books and some blogs and then started getting rid of a LOT of our stuff. It felt good, so I kept doing it. In no way have I reached a level of done. I understand this will be a long process and, if I do it right, one I will continue throughout life. Stay tuned maybe I’ll make sense one day.
Creating Beauty
Along with my endeavor toward more Simplicity and minimizing stuff we own I have come to love the appearance of an empty counter or shelf, a blank space on the wall and a drawer with less clothing. It’s truly beautiful! I’m finding I like one or two pretties verses five. Applying this new aesthetic to our home has been a fun experiment for me.
I’m also having fun wet felting, creating felt ball garlands to put out seasonally. I’m working on one for Fall this week. HERE you can see the one I made to use during March and for Palm Sunday.
Nurturing Hearts
This Fall we observe, St. Michael and All Angels, celebration of the Reformation, All Saints Day, St. Martin of Tours day and various other smaller festivals of saints.
I’ve also started using THESE informational bulletin inserts during our morning Bible Time. Each one teaches children about some different aspect of our church worship services, what they’re seeing, saying and hearing in the service. They’re a good resource so I printed them out and each week we discuss a different one.
Nurturing Minds
I had intended to jump right into some short Preschool lessons with Martha this Fall. I enjoy the Junior Kindergarten curriculum from Memoria Press. While I’ve never used all of it nor followed it strictly I do like having it as a guide and for not having to invent my own lessons. It worked well with Mercy last year but so far…we’ve had one lesson together Martha and I.
Our days are more full than they have been in recent years and really Martha is just a different baby than Mercy. Every baby is a different baby than Mercy! She’s content to play and loves art. She did enjoy our lesson on the letter A, she loved singing together and reviewing the Alphabet. She didn’t even mind working in the workbook. She remembers doing this last year when Mercy was home and I think it makes her feel like a big girl.
But I’ve not made it a priority. And as fine as that is I would like to do a better job at having a lesson together at least a couple times a week. In the meantime we read together on the couch and the girls try really hard not to mutilate each other while fighting over who sits on Mama’s lap during.
Nurturing Senses
The Mud Kitchen I added to the back yard has been great fun for all the babies, even the big ones, EVEN the boys! I just ordered THIS fun little “cookbook” for them to use. Some inspiration for their cooking.
Nurturing Hands
The older my babies get the more their hands find to do. And most of it is actually helpful and productive! I’m glad I’ve endured the years of letting them help in the kitchen, maybe that’s the reason or maybe it’s not I don’t know, but they all still love to help in here. Or branch out on their own cooking experiences. Lily has taken upon herself to bake a new cookie each weekend. A couple weekends ago…Nutty Chocolate Thumbprints.
Nurturing Bodies
Apples, apples and more apples. There aren’t enough apples in the world for this family!
Tending the Earth
These children love being outside. They notice the world around them and mark the beauty they see by gathering and displaying their lovely treasures even if it’s just by stuffing them into an old purse and carrying it around for a week. Clara put this beautiful notebook together of her recent collection. So perfect.
Capturing Time
