Early Birds and Night Owls

Shhh! My girls are still asleep, here in my room. We stayed up late last night and so I'm letting them sleep in. But I thought I would try to blog while I have a quiet moment.

Monday was a busy, on-the-run kind of a day. I was up before the sun in order to get ready to take John and Gabe to the airport. I sat in the back and wasn't paying attention to the way to the airport and nearly panicked that I wouldn't be able to find my way home. (I am terrible with directions!) Thankfully it was as simple as going straight and taking the interstate entrance. Three or more turns and I would have been lost. After the airport we had time to run home. Hannah wanted to take a quick shower and I read my Bible. While home, I found out the phone was not working. Something always has to happen when John goes away. Well, at least I still had my cell phone. Hannah had archery lessons and then the three of us went to lunch at Cracker Barrel - one of my favorites- and then shopping for groceries. We didn't get a lot because I had left my coupons at home. I can't stand to buy something when I know I have a coupon for it sitting at home. When we returned home, Hannah put the groceries away while Holly and I cleaned out the car. Then we had a bit of time to relax before we had to leave for drama. Drama is still in the same county that we live in but it takes 25 minutes to get there. So Holly and I have to figure out what to do on that side of town. Thankfully there is library just 5 minutes away. Time goes by rapidly at the library! Finally we went home for a late dinner and relaxation while watching something useless on TV. I can't even remember what it was now.

Tuesday was a much slower paced day. Not only did I get my dining room table decluttered, but we managed to get some school work done. Gabe is technically on spring break while in Romania. So I told the girls that we would take it easy but I did want to catch up on some math. So we did several math lessons yesterday afternoon. We managed to spend the entire day at home until time for my ladies Bible study. Hannah and Holly go to a single mom's home to babysit for her during the Bible study. Afterwards, I spent some time on Instant Messenger with John trying to figure out what was wrong with the phone. I did not want to call the company and be charged with a customer service bill if it turned out to be a problem in the apartment and not with the company. Well, if you think I am bad with directions, you ought to see me around mechanical/technological devices. It's not a pretty picture. Thankfully, John was able to talk me through the procedure and now we have phone service once again!

Today I am planning on another easy day at home with a little more decluttering/cleaning and a couple of lessons in math. Hopefully, we won't have to go anywhere until church tonight. We very well may stay up late again (hey, we are "night owls" and my very early "early bird" men are not here) but I plan on having a reading/writing time instead of vegetating in front of the TV. That's the plan. We'll see what actually happens!

The girls are still sleeping and I'm off to start my day - shower and Bible reading. Are you a night owl or an early bird?

Goals for the next 2 weeks

John and Gabriel left this morning on a mission trip. They are going to spend 12 days in the beloved country of Romania ministering to those we won to Christ and reaching out to friends yet unsaved. Part of me longs to be there with them, seeing friends once again. The rest of me is glad to avoid the long trip and inevitable jet lag. The girls and I will miss the men being gone, (Gabriel is hardly a boy anymore.) but we have some plans and goals to accomplish during this time. Here are a few of mine:

• Organize paper work
• Learn to French braid
• READ!
• Blog more often
• Watch LOST
  
• Begin writing my book

What's happening at your house?

Winter Reading Challenge

Reading has been a long time hobby of mine. In fact, I can't really remember not reading. Last year, I signed up for the Spring Reading Thing and I did read a few books that were on my list. I hoped to do better on the Summer Reading Challenge but life got in the way. I began a couple of books but did not finish them. I did not even try the fall challenge. This was probably the first Christmas that I did not have a single book on my list. My existing stack at home was neglected and dusty.

Well, what better time is there than January to start again? Trish, from A Joyful Heart, is hosting the 2008 Winter Reading Challenge and is giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate for extra motivation. My list is brief but I fear that if I make it too long, I won't accomplish anything. So here is what I hope to be reading during the next 8 weeks:

• The Power of Crying Out by Bill Gothard (Currently reading)
  
• Answers to Prayer by George Mueller
• Where the Willows Grow by Kim Vogel Sawyer
• Truth Seeker by Dee Henderson (I think I started this one during the summer challenge.)
• Boy by Roald Dahl (Currently reading aloud)
• When God Writes Your Love Story by Eric and Leslie Ludy (Currently being read aloud by my husband to the family)
  
• Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Possible read aloud)

What are you reading this winter?

My Day

I didn't get as much accomplished today as I hoped. I worked on lesson plans for homeschool next week. I'm nowhere near done with that.

I spent some time just enjoying my children. Holly and I played Hail to the Chief this morning. A great game for an election year. Hannah had some Christmas money burning a hole in her pocket and begged me to take her to the mall. I have never been a shopper. I don't really like shopping. If I happen to have some money, I can't find anything I want. When I don't have the extra cash to spend, I find plenty of things that I wouldn't mind having. I'd rather not shop. I'd rather stay home. I can find plenty to do here and I have enough stuff. Hannah did not inherit my anti-shopping attitude. So we went out for a while this afternoon. She found some cute clothes on sale. Gabe entertained me with his movie quotes and impersonations. I am blessed with amazing kids! They all three have a blog but Hannah is the only one who frequently updates hers. She actually has 3 blogs. I love this picture on her photography blog.

What else did I do today? I made tacos for dinner and read for a while. Reading - both out loud and silently - has been sadly neglected around here and I'm glad to be starting the year off right. It's late but I have one more mission before bedtime - change the sheets and put our heated mattress pad on the bed. Warm and snuggly! How was your day?

Summer Reading Challenge

Summer Reading Challenge

It’s sad really. Other than my Bible reading, I hardly cracked a book all summer. I started Truth Seeker and Waiting for Summer’s Return but I just did not have time for leisure reading. I did do a lot of listening to Holly read. She read 14 chapter books and over 100 picture books this summer, more than half of them out loud. I hope I’ll read more this fall! The new homeschool year starts tomorrow for Gabe and Hannah and we will start the year off by reading The Last of the Mohicans aloud.

Fiction

The Truth Seeker by Dee Henderson

The Protector by Dee Henderson

Waiting for Summer’s Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Where Willows Grow by Kim Vogel Sawyer

The Englisher by Beverly Lewis

Non Fiction

The Power of Crying Out by Bill Gothard

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy by Richard J. Maybury

Bible

Romans – Hebrews

Read Alouds

Flags of Our Fathers

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield

What have you read lately?

Read Together

I have really enjoyed the reading challenges that I have been involved in. Today I was reading Katrina’s blog and found out about the Read Together challenge over at Snapshot. It’s a challenge, with prizes even, for something we do all the time – reading aloud! Well, we used to do it all the time before life became so incredibly hectic. Check out the details. You don’t actually have to read aloud; just reading the same book works too. Sign up here and have fun! I'll post what we'll be reading later - after I figure it out myself!