Monday Musings--11 July 2011

Right now...it is about 6:00 a.m.  Only Gabriel is awake with me, reading a bio on Daniel Boone.  It is already warm in the house.  Today the forecast says the high temperature will be around 99 degrees--with the heat index, it will feel like 112 degrees!  It's like being back in Tucson during the monsoon season.

This weekend...was pleasant.  On Friday with had a brief, overnight visit from an old high school buddy of Bret's.  Greg arrived at bout lunch time on Friday and left Saturday morning.  I suggested that Greg and Bret go out to eat, since they hadn't seen one another in decades and dinner without the kids vying for Greg's attention would make catching up a bit easier.  They did so, but when Greg was here, he seemed to enjoy the kids' attention himself, and did card tricks for him.  My un-jaded, country kids were so delighted with his magic tricks, especially Sebastian, to whom he gave his deck of cards before leaving. The rest of Saturday was so busy that I cannot even write about it here without exhausting myself...

Yesterday we finally made it out to my sister's place after a month of planning to get together.  Every week someone in either my family or hers was ill, and we kept putting it off.  This last week she had a terrible cold and I started to come down with one, but she got over hers, and I zapped mine with doses of vitamin C, garlic and zinc, and it never developed.  So we make it out!  We cooked out and the kids played and we had a really nice time.  It passed all too quickly.

Some plans for this week:  school is down to religion, reading and a little math for the boys, and religion, writing and math for Una.  There is a lot of unstructured time right now, and I would love to do more with them, but I have so much to catch up on right now that it seems impossible.  Today I have some bills to pay and I will finish my curriculum purchases with orders to Seton and Teaching Textbooks.  The latter is a real budget-killer, but Una and Sebastian have done so well with it this year, and Una is really at a point in math where I have trouble helping her sometimes.  This program is great in that respect, as they have explanations for how each problem is done.

Tomorrow Gemma has a follow-up at the dermatologist.  She always was pretty sensitive, but I have a suspicion that the massive doses of antibiotics she had back in April are responsible for this sensitivity having gotten so out of hand for a while.  Things do seem to be calming down a bit, though.

Wednesday I shall be baking a cake for Gemma's birthday on Thursday.  And wrapping a few presents.  Bret is making her main gifts, I made her a birthday crown of felt, Una is passing on a beloved baby doll and she is getting a gift from my sister and a few new board books as well.  So, that is quite a lot for a little girl! Dominic's birthday is at the beginning of next month, so I really need to give some thought to what we will give him!

If I find time for myself, I want to...work on the sleeves of Adrian's sweater.  I can't see having much free time this week...

I am grateful for...the visit to my sister's, the fact that today no one in this house is ill (thank you, Lord!), air conditioning, God's providential care.

Some prayer intentions for this week:  For Gemma, turning two, and for a good visit to the dermatologist; for my sister-in-law, Sabrina, who has a birthday today, and for Grandma Fran, who has one tomorrow.  For me to remain sane as I try to remember all the birthdays and anniversaries coming up over the next 10 weeks (by the time these are done, I am hurled into Christmas planning!)  God help me.

Something that makes me smile:  This is Gemma's "funny face".  Whenever she does it, I can't help but smile and laugh out loud.

Hope you all have a blessed week!